


Dependable Barriss

by Peltast



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rise of Empire Era - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Gen, Inquisitors (Canon Star Wars), Rebels
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-23
Updated: 2018-07-04
Packaged: 2018-08-24 06:13:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 82,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8360509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peltast/pseuds/Peltast
Summary: As an Inquisitor of the Imperial Inquisitorius, the woman who once called herself Barriss Offee is tasked with hunting down and destroying the jedi. During a particular hunt, she finds a message never meant for her to see.There's about to be a secret meeting - and it's arranged by a new, mysterious figure.Fulcrum.With a great bloodbath in mind, the Inquisitor sets out to uncover the veil of secrecy and stamp out any notion of resistance.





	1. Chapter 1

 

 

* * *

* * *

 

 

The burning hiss of blood and tissue evaporating was all too satisfying to her ears. Much more so was the sound of the jedi exhaling his last breath. Before he had even realized it, she had plunged the lightsaber straight through his chest, the red tip protruding out of his back. His dark-green eyes reminded her of wet moss as they stared at her in disbelief.

The Inquisitor watched through the augmented visor of her black helmet as the man slowly realized that he was dead. _Man_ was a gracious term. The human still standing before her was barely an adult. He had none of the strength of a jedi knight.

His lips tried to form words, but his lungs were filling with blood. It amused the Inquisitor to no end. He really thought there was still a way out. He still believed she would listen to his words?

He descended into bloody fits of coughing, a shaking hand reaching out towards her, probably some last desperate attempt at saving his life. At making her listen.

She touched the visor. His eyes widened in horror when he saw her face. Barriss Offee’s smile had a calming effect on people, but the twisted visage the jedi was forced to look upon now was nothing like that. Dark lips curled viciously, azure eyes drinking in his suffering. The Inquisitor enjoyed watching the life leave his eyes. She kept him there until he hung limply and his moss-green orbs stared off, unfocused.

_Already? How disappointing._

The visor slid back into place with a light touch and the lightsaber deactivated with a hiss. The lifeless corpse fell face-first into the rocky surface of the moon, the orange dust soaking up the growing pool of blood. A quick search of his corpse, revealed nothing. No clues to his journeys, no hints of his affiliations. Not even a communications device on him.

Emitting a dissatisfied snort, she regretted killing him so swiftly.

 _Why’d you have to be so_ weak _?_

Prodding his corpse with a black boot, she noticed how scrawny he was. Couldn’t have been more than eighteen – a padawan when the galaxy turned upside down. He should have been more powerful than this, but she supposed running and hiding didn’t teach you much other than just that. Truth be told, she had thought she would have had to incapacitate him, but it had ended in his death.

_I could have made him talk._

She knew she was partly to blame. The days she had spent hunting him had worked her up. It didn’t help that he had invoked her anger as well by consistently dodging her assaults in space.

_In a rusty old piece of junk too._

It had nothing to do with her piloting skills, she was sure, but when she finally struck his ship and forced him to land on this barren moon, she’d had no control of her bloodlust. The only thing on her mind had been to exact revenge.

The fact that it had been so simple a victory was a testament to the power she had achieved. Power, Barriss Offee could never have obtained. Yet even such a paltry victory invigorated her and argued for the choice she had made long ago. The choice to destroy the hapless pawn she had been. She’d never again know what it was like to live in a prison of her own mind, never again let anyone shackle her to their misguided cause.

She clipped the lightsaber to her belt and called the fallen jedi’s lightsaber to her hand before the heavy wind blew it out of reach. It was a crudely wrought cylinder and immediately she felt the force radiating from the crystal inside. Without looking at it, she knew it was yellow. Golden, to be specific. She knew the wearer had been kind-hearted, but solemn of personality.

_A perfect candidate for the jedi’s brainwashing program._

The echoes of what he had felt through the last few days of pursuit pulsated through the force. Feeling the suffering he had gone through, the Inquisitor could not conceal another satisfied smirk. There was no better feeling than vengeance.

Coming up to the ship her prey had flown, she confirmed her notions. A small, old transport vessel barely fit to make the jump into hyperspace. The sooty streaks of blasterfire littered the gray hull and the wind had already kicked up enough dust to give it the appearance of a wreck.

_So I didn’t miss after all._

The size of the transport suggested it was meant for a single pilot with a small storage for interplanetary trips and the Inquisitor confirmed this suspicion as she stepped up the ramp extended from the rear of the transport. There was little in the way of accommodations, only a sleeping mat, some boxes which contained what was probably ration packs and a pile of thick clothing. There was nothing that could be categorized under personal objects which was very jedi-like, but unlike a jedi, it was messy. Perhaps it was proof of the haste with which he had made his escape. The fear she had sensed in him when he tried to flee certainly suggested such could be the case. Regardless, it was not worth pondering. She went on to the cockpit.

As expected the navicomputer had been wiped and there were no items of interest readily visible. The cockpit was as desolate as the rest of the ship. The wind picked up outside and dust was all one could see through the cockpit windows. It was time to get going soon, however something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. A square panel that looked like it was meant for storing a data pad or something equal in size was hanging open.

Lowering herself into the pilot’s seat, she reached into the compartment and felt her way around. Her fingers stumbled into something round in shape and she pulled out a holopad.

_Why wasn’t he keeping this on him?_

Turning it around, she studied it from several angles under the assumption it was rigged, however nothing suggested that was the case. The only noticeable thing was a single red diode on the side which was pulsating, indicating it held a recording. She activated it, half-expecting nothing to happen.

A holographic image crackled into existence however it wasn’t a face as expected. Two halves of a thunderbolt split down the middle with two smaller diamonds hovering by its sides. A heavily distorted voice spoke up.

_“My two operatives will be waiting for you as we discussed.”_

The Inquisitor pondered the meaning of the mysterious sign as she listened.

_“I will transmit the coordinates for the rendezvous point now.”_

_A meeting?_

_“Fulcrum, out.”_

The image disappeared in favor of a stream of digits on the holopad.

_Interesting. The jedi was working with someone, but who? Rebels? And who is ‘Fulcrum’?_

It wouldn’t really be a surprise if he was part of a rebellious group rather it was expected, but it did make her wonder how they got in contact with him. He must have been in hiding all this time and for them to have found him, they must either have had a jedi working for them already or have had someone who knew them intrinsically. And this ‘Fulcrum’ sounded like a leader of sorts, perhaps the head of a single cell.

_No face, no voice. He must be someone important._

_And what is that sign?_

She pressed the button to replay the recording, freezing the image of the mysterious thunderbolt.

_What does it mean?_

There was something eerily familiar about it, as if she’d seen it on a page somewhere before, but she couldn’t point it out. Regardless of who Fulcrum was, this was a recording she should never have gotten her hands on. Why hadn’t it been deleted? For a jedi – a padawan even, to be so careless about such sensitive information didn’t seem right. If he had any sense of responsibility at all, he would have either hidden the recording or memorized the coordinates and deleted it. Unless he didn’t have time to do either? Forcing herself not to jump to conclusions, she decided to examine the date of the recording. The message was one standard cycle old which meant that he had received it while she was chasing him.

She felt a twitch of excitement.

_They have no idea he’s dead. They’re still expecting him._

She clipped the holopad to her belt next to the lightsaber and left the jedi’s transport. Heading towards her own ship, she allowed herself a celebratory smirk. Once she had put in the coordinates into her own ship’s navicomputer, she would know where the “operatives” intended to meet up. Granted, she didn’t know _when_ but judging by the date of the recording, the meeting had most likely not taken place yet.

The hexagonal ion engines of the Advanced TIE-fighter she had been assigned were shaking from the ferocity of the wind. The insides of the Advanced TIE weren’t as cramped as a standard TIE, the ones they practically glued together with the bare minimum of necessities. This one had shields, a hyperdrive and a storage compartment. It wasn’t particularly fast or deadly, but it was comfortable enough for the type of missions she was charged with and more importantly _safe._ The jedi’s lightsaber was stowed away in the back along with the pointed black helmet the Inquisitor bore. The dust had gotten into every crevice and gave it the appearance of a worn old piece. That served to annoy her, she liked her things in pristine condition.

Almost automatically, she pushed in buttons and pulled the control yoke to get the ship off the moon. When the howling of the wind finally died and dusty orange gave way to the star-dotted pitch-black vastness of space, she let the auto pilot take over on a course headed nowhere and focused on inserting the coordinates into the navicomputer. The black leather gloves creaked as the Inquisitor tightened her fists, patiently waiting for the computer to produce results.

Finally, lights flashed on the controls and then the image of a red, cloudy planet flickered into existence. She managed to crease a dark eyebrow in slight recognition before the name of the planet appeared.

_Ord Cestus._

From the back of her mind, something cried for her attention, but she ignored it. She focused on the image of the planet. The coordinates didn’t lead to the planet itself, but something supposed to be in the vicinity. The only way to find out exactly where they led would be to head to the system herself, but there was a risk associated with that. There was no telling how many of the supposed “operatives” were meeting up and if she came barging in uninvited it _could_ be suicide. It wasn’t hard to recognize the distinctive shape of the Advanced TIE-fighter and it wasn’t a given she could escape if detected. While she wasn’t shy to admit she could out-fly many Imperial pilots, she wasn’t arrogant enough to believe she was invincible.

Leaning back in the pilot’s chair, she watched as the fighter aligned itself towards the new coordinates, readying itself to enter hyperspace on her command. A sigh escaped her lips.

_Am I going to let his friends get away?_

The possibility of reporting it to her superiors was there. Since she had to report the dead jedi anyhow, she could add this to the report. But in the time it would take for the Imperial Inquisitorium to decide whether to do something or not, the operatives would know something was off.

So she was in a dilemma. At times such at this, it was usually a good idea to confer to the force, but the idea of doing so made her shift in the seat uncomfortably. The force had been in turmoil ever since the formation of the Empire and most of her attempts at emerging herself in the force had yielded strictly negative results. More often than not, it only awarded her a stupendous headache.

That meant she would have to go with her guts.

_Barriss Offee would have argued for caution, too weak and scared to trust her instincts._

Stroking her barren cheek with a hand, she scoffed.

_That’s why she’s dead._

She pressed the button to activate the hyperdrive. Instantly, flashing lights on the control panel indicated that the fighter was about to enter hyperspace. She buckled up and put her hands on the control stick. Strictly speaking, it wasn’t necessary to touch any of the instrumentation, but protocol demanded it and protocols were there for a reason. The stars flew by at an increased pace until the background went from pitch-black to the mesmerizing deep-blue of hyperspace.

She felt the thrill of the hunt already, but all she could do was wait.

 

* * *

 

 

The computer told her that the atmosphere was still stable within the abandoned station. The temperature was even at tolerable levels, though there was little in the way of light in the landing bay where the fighter was currently docked beside. That wasn’t a problem, however, as the Inquisitor’s helmet with the enhanced visor gave her perfectly fine sight in the darkness.

Not that she needed it to see, of course.

Going by her guts had been rewarded. There had been no ships nearby that her computer’s scanners could pick up. Granted, it was no com-scan, but she felt safe enough knowing that the force also told her there was nothing to be afraid of. Thus, she had circled the cylindrical space station a few times before docking and was currently glancing around one the landing bays.

_Why would you come here?_

The station itself was quite out of the way, situated in the Outer Rim Territories. It struck her that it should have been disassembled or at least moved by now, but it could be that it had been left there for future purposes. She made a mental note to check with the Inquisitorium.

As she made her way through the landing bay, she noticed that there were still quite a bit of crates lying around. Could it be supplies that had been left behind? They weren’t stacked around with the precision of troopers, more or less thrown about randomly in a hurry. The mark of the Republic was on them and when she opened the lid on one of them, her suspicions were confirmed. Medical supplies. They looked to be in perfect condition too, when factoring in how long this station must have been decommissioned.

_So that’s what they’re after. They’re going to strip this place clean._

That was within the realm of reasonable explanations. Most of the equipment could be sold and would fetch a hefty price. Or perhaps they were looking to use them in upcoming sabotage actions? But as she exited the landing bay and wandered the desolate corridors of the station, she found herself pondering another question. How could they have known its location? The jedi she had executed could have seen it before, but that did not explain how they knew it still had proper medical supplies. Could someone within the Imperial forces be spying for them?

The Inquisitor halted before a closed door, half-aware that she was examining it for weak spots as she snickered at her own premonitions.

_The answer is much simpler. They don’t know. They’re desperate._

With a flick of her hand, the door buckled inwards with a satisfying crunch. Beyond the opening, the architecture shifted from militaristic hexagonal corridors to a large circular command bridge. It was the center of the station, but it was situated such that large panoramic windows covering almost all of the outer walls, still allowed the commander vision of the outside. She looked around, recognizing the style. There were chairs facing outwards from the middle where the commander’s seat sat on a small rise.

_I wonder if they will talk?_

She let her fingers slide along the backs of the chairs as she passed them by, strolling leisurely around the commander’s rise.

_Or will they stubbornly refuse to betray their friends?_

Part of her hoped they would. She would of course torture them regardless of their co-operation or not, but it was always more gratifying to watch them break slowly.

She sat down in the commander’s seat, crossing one leg over the other and relaxed. Staring across empty rows of seats, she felt the emotions of hundreds of people whose presence still lingered around the abandoned station. Their concerns, their frustrations, their sorrows. It was all a hazy mixture where none really stood out, except for one. Her head tilted at how familiar this particular person felt.

_I’ve been here before._

Vaguely, she remembered her time in recovery on the station, however it was all a blur. She knew how she could make it all clear, how she could recall it all in an instant, but she didn’t want to go there. Instead, she started tapping her armored chin with a finger whilst she thought about a plan. She couldn’t go about this relying _solely_ on gut feeling after all.

Her eyes observed the command console before her. It was completely blank, just as dark as the rest of the station. There was no power whatsoever, nor anything indicating the backup was available. She’d have to rely on the force to tell her anyone was near, or she could go about it in a stealthier way. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to hide and wait. Observe her enemies until she knew exactly how many they brought with them and what equipment they had.

Her line of thought was interrupted.

_Visitors._

She felt them clear as day. Two signatures arrived in close proximity to the station and they were moving closer.

_And they’re on the same ship._

Two she could handle, especially since she didn’t feel anything special about them. No force sensitivity. But she still opted for stealth. It wasn’t like she was in a hurry anyhow.

The signatures came to a brief halt on the other side of the station before they started moving towards the center of the floating structure.

_They’ve landed already? Guess they’re as reckless as me._

The Inquisitor rose from the chair and directed her gaze upwards. In the ceiling, several grates led to what could only be the ventilation system. With the flick of a hand, one of the grates were off. Using the force to augment her jump, she landed inside the vents which, to her comfort, were built large enough for her to be able to stand, albeit with a slight hunch.

She felt their presence approaching one of the doors to the bridge. Inaudibly, she lifted the grate back in place to complete the picture. They wouldn’t be able to spot her from down there, though she couldn’t see very much unless they moved right underneath her.

One of the doors slid open. She kept a hand on the lightsaber, just in case.

Heavy boots on the durasteel floor. They were trying to tread softly, but whoever it was, didn’t do this often. It continued for a few moments until the first footsteps were joined by two more. Lighter. Then she saw the floor being illuminated by flashlights.

“Why are you so paranoid? There’s no one here.”

It was the voice of a woman.

“Nobody knows we’re here.”

The other person spoke up with a thick accent.

“We don’t know that, for all we know, this entire station could be booby-trapped.”

A twi’lek, she immediately deduced. They moved somewhere closer to the windows, further away from her so she pressed closer to the grate, listening.

“Would you give it a rest big boy?”

It sounded like the woman took a seat in one of the lieutenant’s chairs, closer to the middle.

“If they had booby-trapped the place we’d already be dead,” the woman concluded.

_Actually, it makes more sense to wait until you’ve walked all the way inside. Certainly not a saboteur are you?_

 “Your carelessness is going to get someone killed one day,” the twi’lek went on to say.

“Yeah probably, which is why I usually work alone. I don’t even know why I signed up for this,” the woman replied with a sigh of boredom. “There’s no use for me here.”

“Can you put that thing down and focus? He could be here any moment now.” The twi’lek sounded serious, but it had no impact on the woman.

“That _thing_ has a name you know.”

“I don’t care. You’ll end up shooting yourself and leaving me alone to sort this out.”

_Is she toying with a blaster?_

The Inquisitor instinctively frowned at such senseless actions.

A moment of silence followed while the twi’lek paced the floor and then eventually the woman spoke up again.

“So, who’s the guy we’re waiting for?”

“I don’t know him personally, but if what I’m told is true, he’s a jedi.”

_So he is their accomplice, but they haven’t seen him before?_

The chair squeaked as the woman spoke up.

“A jedi? Didn’t they all get killed?”

“Apparently not,” the twi’lek started. “But Fulcrum said he would be helping us. He goes by the name ‘Adder’ that’s all I know,” he finished.

“Adder?” The woman scoffed.

“Well as long as he can fight as good as they say jedi can, then he can call himself whatever he wants.”

“Anyway, we might as well make ourselves comfortable here while we wait. I have no idea how long it’ll be,” the twi’lek continued.

“You don’t know?” the woman blurted out. “Hell if I’m staying here any longer than necessary – can’t we load up without him?”

_Load up the medical supplies?_

“We can, but we should wait,” he suggested. “Fulcrum will want to know if the jedi didn’t arrive.”

“Great,” she said sarcastically. “Be a darling and wake me up when he gets here alright?”

There was no reply and the Inquisitor wasn’t going to wait for one. She silently started walking down the vents, headed towards the docking station where she had parked her fighter.

A devious plan was forming inside her head and she’d need these two for it.

 

* * *

 

 

Dreem had met jedi before, during the Clone Wars on his home planet of Ryloth. They were powerful individuals, but more importantly, they were honorable and compassionate.  When he first saw their glowing lightsabers cut down armies of droids, he and thousands of others had been filled with hope and the determination required to fight on through seemingly insurmountable odds.

That was before the Empire. That was before they were all betrayed by the troopers they called their friends. He didn’t believe the Imperial propaganda for a second. The notion that the jedi would betray the Republic defied belief. It was so ridiculously stupid that his lekku irked just knowing that there were people who believed it. What was even worse was the fact that most people did _nothing._ They stood idly by while the Empire enslaved entire planets and committed genocide on a galactic scale.

His sea-green fists tightened when he remembered what they had done to his family. To his people. Seeing them taken away like livestock in shackles to an uncertain, but surely horrible destiny as slaves in mines, fields or _worse_. Watching it, knowing there was nothing he could do made his blood boil. The only thing that had kept him from going out in some glorious suicidal act of sabotage was the thought of seeing his family alive again.

He took a deep breath and exhaled.

This mission was one step closer to that. They couldn’t take on the Empire with the numbers they had now, but the rebellion was growing all the time. He didn’t know how many there were in total, a safety precaution he figured, but judging by the number of people he’d seen pass through their rebel cell, it was a good guess that they were gaining popularity.  In spite of that, he couldn’t wait until they had the strength to liberate his people. He was good at hiding his impatience towards his superiors, but not with Hoss.

“Get up,” he grunted.

His human associate opened an eye and squinted at the light he was shining at her.

“What’s gotten into you?”

Her tone and attitude was as always, completely careless. He still hadn’t learned to cope with it so he calmed himself by putting two fingers to his temples and massaging them.

“Look,” he tried, “lets just get this over with. Whether the jedi will be here or not, let’s start loading up the meds,” he finished, hoping she wouldn’t start bickering at him again.

Hoss got up from her seat and activated the light on her beloved blaster. She started towards a door that had been partly crushed.

“Now we’re talking, you know where they are or are we spending the rest of the day searching?”

He pointed the light down at her knee-high boots and took a few seconds to consider.

“Intel says it’s either landing bay five or seven and seeing as there were none in bay seven, we’re heading for bay five.”

“Way ahead of you,” she called from somewhere down the corridor.

Sighing, he followed her down it.

_At least she’s as eager as me to get this over with._

Walking a few paces behind Hoss, he let the light shine over the abandoned connecting rooms, surgical monitors and what else. His trained eyes were wary of any signs of traps or surveillance, but there was nothing. Or at least he _saw_ nothing.

“You know, I’m kind of disappointed this jedi didn’t show up,” Hoss began. “I’ve never met one before.”

He wasn’t surprised. Smugglers didn’t usually make a lot of willing contact with the authorities.

“I mean, I’ve seen them on the holo news obviously, but other than that, I’m kinda curious how useful having one is going to be.”

He stepped around a square grate that looked like it had fallen off one of the vents.

“There’s still time for him to show up,” he said and then had to ask: “what do you mean ‘how useful’?”

“Well, the Empire’s got a massive bounty on even a single jedi’s head. We’re going to get pretty popular with a jedi on the team, don’t you think?”

He’d never thought about that. She had a good point. It was going to get a lot harder to fly under the Empire’s radar with a jedi around, but it was a risk he was willing to take.

“You might be right, but I’ve seen jedi in action before. It will go a long way to improve our odds on missions.”

He was convinced of that.

“Sure, we-  What’s that?”

She pointed the light through the landing bay door, illuminating the floor all the way to the huge two-part hangar doors.

“What’s what?”

He couldn’t get a good look at what she was pointing at so he moved closer to her. Then Hoss drew her blaster.

“Hold it right there, sweetie,” she said, pointing the weapon at someone inside the hangar whom he couldn’t see yet.

“Put down your weapon, we’re on the same side here.”

It was the voice of a woman. Friendly and calm.

“Sure we are, so what’s that you got there by your belt?”

He didn’t pull his own blaster rifle yet, but moved inside the hangar with Hoss. The human smuggler was motioning towards the unknown woman’s belt with the blaster.

The woman stepped closer and he recognized her as mirialan by the yellow color of her skin.

“It’s my lightsaber,” she explained whilst keeping her hands raised in a gesture of no ill intentions.

The mirialan wore a set of brown, form-fitting clothes that accentuated the small, but agile shape of her figure. He wasn’t in doubt this one was strong, but something about the way her azure blue eyes examined them like they saw straight through the two of them sent chills down his spine.

“Does the name ‘Adder’ ring a bell?” she asked, this time adding a smile to her lips.

Hoss shot a glance at him in askance and he nodded shortly. It was obvious she was the jedi, but he’d never felt this way before around one and he’d met a few after all.

Hoss lowered the blaster and stuck out a hand.

“Cayleen Hoss, a pleasure.”

‘Adder’ looked at it for a moment as if suspecting a trick, but then overcame the brief moment of hesitance and shook it gingerly. He felt more at ease and when she looked his way again, he greeted her politely.

“Dreem Telbud. It’s good to have a jedi on our side again.”

“It’s good to know there’s still people willing to fight the Empire,” Adder commented. Then she turned sharply and gestured towards the other side of the hangar.

“You’ll find the crates over there.”

“Ah, Fulcrum already told you why we are here?” he said as he shone the light over at the crates.

“No, but I figured this was what you were after,” she replied.

Hoss was already busy opening the crates one by one to check their contents. She sent him a thumbs up.

“There’s at least ten crates worth of meds,” she exclaimed with a thrill in her voice. “Can’t believe the Empire would just leave it here for us.”

“We owe that to our intel,” he affirmed while looking over to the jedi again. He took care not to shine the light in her face.

“We’ve got a transport ship waiting next to landing bay seven, I’ll fly it over here and dock it so we can get this loaded up. Where’s your ship?”

“Don’t worry about it,” she said. “I’ll help Cayleen.”

He nodded and started towards the other side of the station, though after a few steps he turned around again, remembering something.

“Hey Adder?”

She hadn’t begun walking towards Hoss yet, looking at him as if she knew he was going to ask something before he did. Jedi were like that.

“What’s your real name?”

Cover names were fine, but he liked to know who he was working with.

She looked like she had just tasted something bitter.

“My name is _Adder_ ,” she answered, sending him a glance that made him feel ashamed for even asking.

He frowned, but otherwise didn’t press any further. There was a high price on her head, so obviously she had to be careful. But still, it didn’t sit well with him.

As she turned around and started walking towards Hoss, he continued through the corridor towards landing bay seven.

 

* * *

 

 

A green light flashed on the instrumentation above.

“Alright, we’re leaving,” Dreem announced.

The docking locks set the shuttle free with two resounding clangs throughout the craft.

“Careful now, don’t scratch it.”

Hoss was practically breathing down his neck.

The control stick veered in his hands, but only for a moment. By his own standards, he was good at handling the unusual vessel, though it was still not good enough to Hoss’ liking.

“You know, we’d probably get back a lot faster if you flew,” he suggested, already knowing it wasn’t going to lead anywhere.

“Excuse me? Who’s been hauling crates and who’s been taking a stroll?”

He was faintly aware that the jedi was in the cockpit as well, though his attention was inevitably drawn to Hoss who leaned over the co-pilot’s chair to program the navicomputer.

“Then let me fly. I haven’t dented it before have I?” he looked forwards again, maneuvering the shuttle away from the station into position for the hyperspace jump.

“There,” she said when the navicomputer beeped and accepted the input.

“Alright, buckle up,” he warned when the extra engines sparked to life.

Hoss took up the co-pilot’s seat and the jedi sat down in the back. He let go of the stick, allowing the computer to take over. A moment later, lights started flashing alarmingly on the instrumentation, but it didn’t worry him. The ship was heavily modified and Hoss hadn’t bothered updating the software accordingly. After they had entered hyperspace, he started doing a routine check of all the equipment just to be sure he didn’t miss something important in the trivial mess of flashing warning lights -  something Hoss never did. Thinking of when he first saw the ship, he was reminded of a lambda shuttle, but with smaller wings which weren’t collapsible and with a smaller cockpit. The insides were very different though, with much more space. It had a large storage compartment, two cabins and a cramped planning room with a holoprojector that he’d never seen work.

“Get me when we’re there,” she said before slipping out of the seat.

“Where are you going?” he asked, but the hiss of a cabin door opening and closing was all the answer he got.

Exhaling, he made sure the last few instruments were in order before turning around in the chair, resting his gaze on their mirialan companion who was up by now, standing by the door, her eyes lost in something outside in hyperspace. She hadn’t said a word yet since they got on the shuttle.

“So,” he began, hesitating a bit as those strange eyes met his again. “How’d you end up here?”

She looked him over again. He knew he looked slightly coarse with his torn khaki headwear that kept his lekku in place behind his neck. The armor he’d been handed by clone troopers was charred and parts of it were missing. His rugged knee-high boots reached only one armored knee-cap and even that one was in need of replacement. The blaster rifle he always carried on his back was standing upright in the corner of the cockpit, but at least that one never had so much as a speck of dirt on it.

“I’m guessing you fought on Ryloth?” she asked him unexpectedly.

“I did. The Empire’s enslavement of my home is part of my reason for being here,” he elaborated.

Uninvited, she walked up and took the co-pilot’s seat. For the first time, he saw that she had scars in her face. Small cuts which he knew were the result of fragments.

“You fought in the clone wars I assume?” he asked, turning in the chair so he was facing the deep-blue of hyperspace.

“I fought until we were betrayed from within,” she said, folding her gloved hands in her lap. Something about the way she sat upright and firm in the seat made him think of a woman of high status.

“It’s only by the will of the force that I still breathe,” she exhaled. “I wasn’t with any troopers when it happened.”

He knew what she meant. He had seen the hell of that day - _been_ in that hell and recalling it now made him relive how powerless he had felt.

“I saw it with my own eyes when they started shooting the jedi,” he started.

She turned her head, looking at him compassionately even though she must have suffered immeasurably more than he did on that day.

“We’d just defeated the Separatists, we were celebrating the victory and completely oblivious,” he continued, moving his feet restlessly. “The clones just turned their blasters as if all reacting to some hidden signal, gunning every jedi down in sight. Those of us who tried to stand against them were killed too.”

His hands balled into fists on his knees as he remembered the shouting and confusion of hundreds of men and women who didn’t know why they were being killed. So many people he knew, betrayed by those they would have willingly died for.

“It’s even worse to think that moments before, the clones had been dying for the same cause as we. They were destroying everything they had worked for too, proving that in the end, they were just mindless slaves.”

He circulated a breath, watching his fingers uncurl.

“If it hadn’t been for the swift decisions of our leaders that day, we would all have perished.”

“They didn’t die for nothing,” she said. “Nobody could have known what the Empire had planned,” she continued, but he noticed she wasn’t looking at him anymore. She was looking at her own hands, really looking at them, as if studying the black leather for faults.

“I’m sorry, I realize you lost many too,” he said quickly. “You’re the first jedi I’ve met since that day.”

The mirialan woman nodded slowly, speaking with as calm a demeanor as before.

“I lost everyone. _Everything.”_

He thought about that for a moment. He too had lost most of whom he cared about, but he at least had the hope that his family was still alive out there.

 _No, I_ know _they’re still out there._

She had nothing. He couldn’t prize himself as being an expert on the jedi, but he did know they were all taken to the temple at a very young age. They didn’t make contact with their families so the closing thing they had to that must have been the order and that order had been destroyed. Every relative branded a traitor and a bounty put on their heads. He had seen what the Empire had done to the remains of the jedi temple too, no doubt in an effort to stamp out the last remaining signs of the jedi and what they stood for. Only it hadn’t worked. For all the struggle they had gone through to make the galaxy resent the jedi, as long as people like him were alive, the jedi would serve as symbols of justice, compassion and morals.

When he looked at the jedi sitting beside him, he saw a person whose whole life had been dedicated to those virtues and she didn’t seem to realize how valuable she was.

“I understand you’ve lost the jedi order,” he began. “But I don’t think you’ve lost everything.”

She didn’t take her gaze off her hands, but he was determined to lift her spirits.

“For what good it does, you still inspire hope. You might not be as many as you were before, but the galaxy you left behind knows what you stand for and what you wanted to do.”

He looked out the cockpit glass, continuing as she remained silent.

“There are countless people out there, mourning your losses and who will rise up to fight those who wronged us all. The people are still with you.”

“You are still the image of _good_ in the galaxy,” he finished and felt satisfied with what he’d said. It was true after all and it felt like a stone had been lifted from his heart. Like he’d needed to tell someone for a long time.

“Thank you.”

He almost had to ask her to repeat herself, so low was her voice.

“Don’t mention it, just never lose hope.”

He gave her a rare smile which she returned.

“Have you met Fulcrum?” she asked suddenly.

He looked upwards as he realigned his thoughts, focusing on the intelligence officer he knew as ‘Fulcrum’.

“No, we communicate strictly through holo calls,” he replied.

“Oh? So you don’t know who he is?” she questioned.

“Well, I know he’s working intelligence for several rebel cells, but I don’t know the person,” he replied.

“I see. So he just hands you intelligence and you act on it?”

He nodded.

“Hasn’t been wrong so far.”

A thought struck him.

“How’d you connect with him anyhow? Are you associated with another cell?” he asked curiously.

There was a long pause before she said anything.

“No, I was alone until Fulcrum contacted me,” she said whilst examining the controls. “Drifting around on an old transport barely fit to fly. It was quite fortunate, really.”

“Did you know of the rebellion beforehand?” he asked.

She shook her head.

“I was in hiding, waiting.”

He tilted his head, searching one side of her face and eventually asked as she didn’t explain further.

“Waiting for what?”

“I’m not certain. Signs of resistance. Hope, I guess you could say.”

He was somewhat sure he understood.

“You were waiting to see how to strike back? Where to start?”

“Yes,” she agreed and then changed the subject. “Where exactly are we headed?”

He blinked and then lifted his shoulders in a light shrug.

“We’re headed back to the cell,” he said, adding: “but I don’t know where.”

“You don’t know where it is?” she looked at him again in a way that made him duck slightly.

“It’s a precaution,” he explained. “Hoss knows where we’re going, I know what we’re doing. In case one of us gets caught.”

A mirialan eyebrow rose.

“You’re willing to leave Hoss behind?”

_If it’s her or the rebellion…_

He looked at her, his voice hushed for some reason.

“It’s protocol. I hope I’ll have the guts to do what I have to do if it comes to that, but I’m not intending it to ever go that far.”

“I understand,” she said. “The integrity of the rebellion comes before all.”

He was glad they were on the same page about that, but before he could pose another question, he watched her rise from the seat.

“I’ll follow Hoss’ example and retire for now. Let me know if you need someone to relieve you of piloting.”

“Will do,” he said and then quickly added: “and thank you.”

With a polite bow, she left him alone in the cockpit. He turned to watch the mesmerizing blue of hyperspace. They had a lot more work coming up and it wouldn’t do for him to have his mind elsewhere.

But before he did any more thinking, he needed a cup of steaming hot coffee.

 

* * *

 

 

Barriss shuddered in the hospital bed. Her eyes flashed open and after getting accustomed to the bright light, she recognized where she was.

 _Ord Cestus,_ she realized.

She was wearing a white hospital gown and a myriad of electrodes were connected to her arms. She plucked them off carefully one by one, knowing exactly what each and every one of them was for. Beside her, she noticed something orange stirring.

"Ahsoka?" Barriss asked, her voice raspy.

The togrutan teenager was sleeping on a chair beside the bed, her mouth wide open and a tendril of drool hanging from her lip.

Barriss suppressed a laughter, but couldn't stop a wide smile from creasing her lips. She repeated herself a little louder.

"Ahsoka!"

The togruta jolted awake, scrambling out of the chair and almost colliding with the hospital bed.

"Wh-what! Are the worms back!?"

Barriss sat up and collected her hands at her fore, stroking a yellow index finger while waiting patiently for Ahsoka to regain her bearings.

"Barriss! You're awake!" Ahsoka eventually stated, not sure where to put her hands, she did the same as Barriss.

"How are you feeling, Barriss?" Ahsoka asked worriedly.

Barriss looked up at the blue eyes of her friend, her smile causing the togruta to ease up immediately.

"Well, after the creepy experience of having been controlled by a brainworm for hours, steered about like some droid made of flesh.." She began, observing Ahsoka glance away, her force signature beaming guilt. ".. I feel altogether pretty good. You saved my life, Ahsoka."

Ahsoka had saved her life twice in two days now, which was astonishing. Barriss had liked the togruta the moment she met her. Energetic, eager and a lot more skilled than her age portrayed. She was about three years Barriss' junior, but it only showed when it came to patience and knowledge of the jedi ways. In those areas, Ahsoka took after her master perhaps a bit too much. The reckless, headstrong _Chosen one,_ Anakin Skywalker.

Ahsoka squeezed Barriss shoulder lightly.

"Hey?"  Ahsoka said worriedly.

Barriss blinked and beamed a reassuring smile.

"Sorry, I zoned out for a bit."

Ahsoka chuckled and stepped over to the small medical desk beside the bed, turning her back to Barriss.

"Let me help you with your clothes."

"Oh you really don't have to, Ahsoka."

"Nope, but I'm still doing it." Ahsoka's lips twitched into a sly grin as she laid out Barriss simple brown clothes on the bed.

Barriss threw the gown over her head and started pulling the clothes on. Ahsoka sat on the bed, her fingers fiddling in her lap. There had been a silence for more than a thirty seconds and Barriss was starting to think Ahsoka was unwell.

"Sure it's a good idea to be up and walking already? I mean.. That worm had you under control for hours.."

 _Nope, all good,_ she thought, but laughed on the outside.

Ahsoka blinked.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing. Master Fisto assured me it was all fine, Ahsoka." She heaved the chestpiece over her head and started wriggling her way through it.

"Sure you don't want to stab me?" Ahsoka said and Barriss knew her friend was grinning.

"Ahsoka!" Barriss tried to keep a serious expression, but it was hard. Once she got the chestpiece on, she sent Ahsoka a stare.

"Sorry, sorry.. I'm just glad you're alright," she explained before tossing her the belt. It had a heart-shaped mark on the buckle.

"Only thanks to you," Barriss replied, locking the belt at her waist and then sitting down on the bed with a polite distance between them.

"Barriss, about what you said.." Ahsoka started, her gaze downcast.

Barriss knew what she referred to. The words echoed in her mind.

_Kill me.. Please._

"You did the right thing," she comforted her friend, wishing she would look up at her.

"But if I had failed- .. If the worms had spread..."

"Ahsoka, _past is past._ It does us no good to dwell on it."

Ahsoka finally looked up.

Barriss screamed.

_“What’s wrong Barriss?”_

Sickly yellow eyes stared at her.

“Ahsoka!?”

She felt every hair on her body stand.

The _thing_ that had been her best friend opened its mouth, but all Barriss heard was the screeching of dying Genosians.

“Ahs-  I’m sorry! _I’m sorry Ahsoka!_ ” she tried to scream, but the screeching drowned out all other sounds.

Dark veins spread across the togruta’s skin as it approached her, its movements frighteningly bizarre.

Hyperventilating, Barriss stumbled backwards against the wall, somehow _knowing_ that she was going to die.

She wanted to run, but her limbs wouldn’t move and then it was too late.

Cold hands took hold of her and she was forced to look into the abyss that was waiting for her.

With its lips curled in an unnaturally wide grin, Barriss saw all of its pointy teeth before they tore her face apart.

The Inquisitor broke from the dream like breaking through the icy surface of a lake. She heaved for air and then felt two _warm_ hands grab her. They shook her until she finally noticed the two people standing over her.

_The cabin. I’m in the cabin on the ship._

“Talk to me! What’s going on?”

The twi’lek looked worried, his hard, amber eyes staring at her.

“I’m – I’m fine. I’m fine!” she croaked, getting up from the make-shift bed that was a thin mattress. Her clothes felt wet and sticky.

“Are you _sure_?” the twi’lek inquired, observing her like he was afraid she was going to fall over. She frowned, hating how compassionate he thought he was.

_You’re not helping anyone you gullible fool._

“Yes I’m _sure,”_ she confirmed and looked from him to Hoss. The human female actually managed to look concerned for once.

“You were screaming things,” the human informed her.

Of all the times to get a nightmare, it had to be now.

“What things?” she demanded to know before gulping a mouthful from a glass of water the twi’lek handed her.

Her two companions exchanged glances and Hoss eventually was the one to speak up.

“Go to the cockpit Dreem, we should be exiting hyperspace soon and we’ll need someone at the controls.”

Nobody moved while a wordless conversation took place between the two. Then eventually the twi’lek exhaled, eyed the Inquisitor one more time and left the two women to talk. Hoss walked over to the small desk that the cabin was outfitted with. She sat down backwards on the chair and crossed her arms, propping them on the backrest.

_We’re going to have a deep and heartfelt talk?_

The Inquisitor put down the glass and collected her hands at her fore, glancing at the other woman expectantly.

“You’ve seen a lot of war, haven’t you?” Hoss asked.

The Inquisitor sighed, putting on a mournful mask.

_I’ll enjoy killing you._

“Y-yes… Yes, I have,” she replied.

Hoss shifted uncomfortably in the chair, raising a hand to run back a few rogue strands of blonde hair from her face.

“You were shouting a lot. Couldn’t make out exactly what, but it sounded like- .. well.. “

She waved around her hand, trying to find the right word.

“ – Like you were possessed or something. You’re not having some, you know.. Major war trauma or something?”

Hoss looked to be about the same age as the Inquisitor. She looked nimble, not one used to hard work or hand-to-hand combat. That and judging by the way she dressed with brown boots, some sturdy looking gray trousers and a ridiculous black vest over a dim-gray shirt, it was obvious she was self-centered. The squarish blaster she prized and had even _named_ was the finishing touch to the image of vanity.

There were so many ways to make her suffer and imagining them all was the only thing keeping the Inquisitor from _actually_ doing it right now.

“.. Hey, still with me?” Hoss said.

Suppressing a smile, the Inquisitor bowed her head and continued the charade.

“Memories of the clone wars sometimes resurface in my sleep,” she said truthfully.

“Yeah I get that, but that’s not what I’m worried about,” Hoss went on. “What worries me, is if that happens when you’re awake. When you’re flying maybe, or when you’re fighting. Are you gonna melt down and get me killed?”

The Inquisitor looked up at the smuggler and smiled reassuringly. Hoss shifted again.

“No,” she lied. “I promise, that will not happen.”

As the Inquisitor sat down on her knees, Hoss looked unconvinced, but said nothing.

_Fear._

It was trickling off the blonde smuggler and the mirialan felt her heartrate increase because of it. It fueled the part of her that wanted nothing more than to turn that fear into suffering.

But it wouldn’t do to make a mess of things right now. Not when she was this close to unveiling several rebel cells.

“Please, can I get a moment to myself?” she asked, maintaining the smile.

“Eh- .. Sure, I guess. You’ll be alright?” Hoss got up.

“I will. Thank you for worrying about me.”

The door hissed shut behind Hoss and the Inquisitor’s smile died. Her eyes went to the desk and the chair.

_Of course she didn’t slide the chair back._

While it bothered her, she had more acute matters to consider. She’d had another nightmare and another fit of shouting, no doubt stressful words from another time.

From another person.

And thinking of that, she thought of _Ahsoka._

She bit down on her lip.

No matter how hard she tried to quell it, some part of her would never cease to torment her with memories of that slippery togruta. Taunting her by reminding her how Barriss Offee nearly succeeded, but ultimately failed. She felt no guilt at all about what she had done with the wide-eyed innocent she had once called her friend. For all she knew, Ahsoka had been gunned down along with the rest of the jedi and lived on only in her mind with the sole purpose of causing the Inquisitor misery. But she knew the nightmares were signs. The force was trying to tell her _something,_ but she couldn’t recognize what it was.

_Perhaps it’s time to try meditating again._

Her shoulders slumped and she let her hands rest with the palms upwards on either knee. She closed her eyes and effortlessly immersed herself in the force. The first thing she felt was the unruly waves of grief, agony and anger that had permeated the entire galaxy lately, but after a few deep calming breaths, she was able to focus again.

_Force.. It’s been so long._

It felt like years since the last time she had been able to properly meditate and now, she felt the frustrations of the past few days flow from her into the force. She felt the twi’lek and his presence like a glowing aura in the ship. Strong-willed and hopeful, he was worried, she could tell, but she did not search his aura further. The very different aura of the human caught her attention. It was hard to tell what emotions leaked off of her, it was faint. Almost like her aura was slowly retracting itself and moving away from the Inquisitor.

She was moving.

_She’s outside the ship?_

The Inquisitor opened her eyes just as the door hissed open.

“Ah, you look better already.”

It was the twi’lek male again and he appeared in a rush.

“Thank you. Where are we currently?” she asked.

“We’ve docked with the others,” he said as he started backing out of the cabin again. “Hoss is getting some of the others to haul the crates, but I’ve got to report to command. You take the time you need and then report to command as well.”

And then he was gone again.

That made sense at least. She brushed her thighs down and rose feeling refreshed.

_I’ll have to meditate some more when this farce is over with._

Clipping the lightsaber to her belt, she took the com device from her belt and pressed a button on the side. It wasn’t a sophisticated tracking device, but it would do for what she had planned.

 _Soon,_ she assured herself and imagined herself carving a bloody trail throughout the spaceship.

_Soon, you’ll all know who I really am._

 

* * *

 

 

Everything was going according to plan, but he couldn’t shake the sinking feeling in his stomach.

Something bad was going to happen.

He thought about what Hoss had told him about Adder’s nightmare.

_“She was shouting things, Dreem. Weird things which I couldn’t exactly make out but she’s seen things. Bad things.”_

_“Are all jedi like that?”_

Hoss had then gone on to stand behind him in the cockpit, flipping her blaster restlessly while he docked with the CR90 Corvette. It was odd to see her troubled, but even more so for her not to say a word. It was the first time he’d made a successful docking without receiving at least _some_ chiding comments. Well, actually it was the first time she’d been in the _cockpit_ and not berated his flying. That the jedi was having nightmares was something he hadn’t thought about, but it made sense. She’d probably seen much more war and suffering than he ever would and he dared not imagine what memory had caused such a reaction.

“Sergeant Telbud, are you listening?”

He looked up startled, almost dropping the glass in his hands and spilling its contents over the holo table before him.

“Sorry Sir, I’m listening.”

Commander Tamas’ tone of voice brook no argument. He was an aged man with graying dark hair dressed in knee-high boots, a pair of khaki trousers and a blouse. Underneath it, he had a cobalt blue shirt whose collar was pierced with his rank insignia on either side. With his hands locked behind his straightened back, he looked the leader he was. His weathered face was a testament to the hard work he had done throughout his life and his granite gray eyes teemed with experience. It was those eyes which were now observing Dreem.

It felt like a long moment before the Commander moved on with the subject at hand.

“The supplies are being checked by our medicinal staff as we speak. Not that I don’t trust you Sergeant, but in this case, I’d rather be absolutely certain we’re not sending off something that will be ineffective.”

He didn’t really take offense to that, but he was glad the Commander bothered to explain. Neither he or Hoss were experts on military grade med supplies after all.

The Commander glanced across the holo table at Dreem again.

“You said in your report that you didn’t encounter any problems whatsoever and you have the jedi with you?”

Dreem cleared his throat.

“Yes, Commander. I told her to report to command once she was ready.”

“Great, I can’t wait to meet her,” a young voice exclaimed beside Dreem. It was Tapham a human fighter pilot and an ace at that even. The pilot was clearly excited and Dreem wondered whether the boy had ever met a jedi before.

Commander Tamas nodded.

“Excellent. While we wait, I’d like to hear your report, Captain Tikira.”

The orange skinned twi’lek rose from her seat on the other side of the table to the left of Dreem. She pressed a few buttons on the control console and then a segment of empty space was illustrated above the holo table.

“The raid on the Imperial convoy was successful,” she announced before drawing a line with her fingers through space.

“This was the interception point. The intel was good, we landed so close they barely had time to activate their shields.”

Where her fingers ended, eight miniature fighters materialized and started assaulting two bulky-looking transports. The entire skirmish was soundless and Dreem watched the starfighters’ lasers tear the Imperial ships apart.

“We had no losses and the transports were completely annihilated,” she finished proudly.

“There was no escort?” Dreem asked with genuine curiosity.

Captain Tikira shook her head.

“Not a single TIE.”

_Huh, isn’t that a bit odd?_

Tapham had the exact same thoughts.

“Isn’t that strange? They usually protect their transports pretty well,” the human said, looking to the Captain for answers.

The twi’lek woman lifted her shoulders in a casual shrug.

“Their forces must be stretched thin,” she reasoned. “Does it matter?”

“No matter the reason, we’ve dealt the Empire a blow today,” the Commander concluded as he turned off the holo battlefield. “You and your squadron did well, Captain Tikira and have earned some time to rest.”

“Unfortunately,” he said. “I will have to ask you and Tapham to prepare your fighters immediately.”

Dreem raised an eyebrow.

Tapham rose from his seat.

“Right away, Sir!” Tapham said eagerly. “Where are we going?”

“Captain Tikira and her squadron is to escort our transport carrying the med supplies,” he revealed. “Take-off in twenty minutes.”

“Yes, Commander,” the Captain replied and gave him a rigid salute.

While she grabbed her helmet, and made to leave the conference room, Dreem wished whoever was going to ride the transport good luck. Working with Tikira was rarely a pleasurable experience. Though he had to admit she was a great pilot, she lacked compassion. Her auburn red eyes always made him feel uneasy and whenever he was unfortunate enough to be under their gaze, he was sure she was considering how best to trade his life for another victory. Even though her squadron had been the most successful so far, it had also taken the most losses.

When she was gone, the Commander spoke again.

“Tapham, you’re going to take some of the rookie pilots and teach them whatever you can. Focus on survival. Understood?”

“Yes, Sir!” he exclaimed, already with his helmet under his arm and on his way to be about his task.

Most people obeyed Commander Tamas without question not because of his authority, but because they trusted him. Dreem too, would do just about anything for him, but it still worried him to see Tapham be so eager. A boy his age shouldn’t have to go to war.

But then again, Dreem had gone to war at fifteen, three years younger than Tapham.

He sipped the glass of water. It didn’t do him any good to concern himself with the morality of war now, they had a rebellion to keep alive and good pilots like Tapham were invaluable.

“Ah,” the Commander blurted out as the door hissed behind Dreem yet again. He turned around to see Adder standing as tall as she was with her hands locked serenely behind her back. She was smiling and averted her gaze upwards to meet the gaze of the Commander.

“It’s good to see you survived. Welcome to the rebellion, Adder.” The Commander shook her hand and Dreem smiled, joyful to see Adder looking better.

“I’m glad to be here, Commander,” she informed him and took the seat the Commander showed her.

“Feeling better?” Dreem had to ask.

“ _Much_ better,” she replied, adding a “thank you.”

The Commander cleared his throat and sat down on the other side of the holo table.

“My name is Commander Tamas,” he started and then gestured towards Dreem. “You’ve met Sergeant Telbud and you shall meet others like him soon, but I fear we must jump straight to the duties at hand.”

“Something the matter, Commander?” the jedi inquired.

She sat with one leg crossed over the other, her hands folded in her lap.  Dreem looked from her to the Commander, finding himself curious as well.

“Nothing is _wrong_ so to speak, however, Fulcrum has asked that you join up with him as soon as possible. As such, I ask that you go with the transport leaving shortly.”

“Is that so? Is there a reason for such haste?” she asked further.

The Commander threw up his hands.

“I don’t know. I suppose it’s jedi business of some sort,” he guessed.

_Jedi business?_

Dreem led the glass to his lips, but never took a sip. His eyes were on the jedi.

“Jedi business? Fulcrum is a jedi too, I take it?” she said, suddenly appearing more interested.

“Yes, I thought that’s how he got a hold of you in the first place?” the Commander countered, creasing one gray brow.

Dreem slowly let down the glass again, smiling inside as he took that in.

_Fulcrum is a jedi too._

Two jedi working directly with them? It seemed like a rescue mission was becoming more and more viable.

“Ah yes, of course,” she conceded, raising a hand to her head as she flashed an apologetic smile. “Do forgive me, the last couple of days have been filled with new information.”

“Very good,” the Commander said, satisfied with that explanation. “Dreem?”

“Yes, Commander?”

“You and Adder take the medicinal transport with Hoss. Fulcrum will make contact with you once you’ve arrived.”

_Ah, well at least the jedi is with me._

“Understood, Commander.”

“I’ll have the jump coordinates uploaded to Hoss.”

The Commander got up from his seat.

“Any questions?”

Dreem shook his head.

“Brilliant. I look forward to hearing from you again, but for now, Godspeed.”

He took that as a hint and got up to leave. Adder followed him out of the conference room and he matched his pace with hers as they walked down the corridor.

“We’re lucky to have _two_ jedi fighting on our side,” he said, smiling confidently.

She was walking with her hands joined behind her back, eyes forwards. It took a moment before she registered he said anything and she didn’t sound as high spirited as he was.

“I can’t wait to see who it is.”

The sinking feeling in his stomach wouldn’t go away, but he attributed it to fatigue. He hadn’t had anything to eat since they got out of hyperspace too, so really, it could be anything. Besides that, he was excited about getting to see Fulcrum. He’d been with this cell for years and he’d never known Fulcrum was a jedi. It didn’t bother him that the Commander had kept that from him, there were entirely good reasons after all, but he hoped they weren’t just going to deliver Adder. They needed that jedi.

He needed her to make his mission possible.

 

* * *

 

 

Commander Tamas nearly collided with the technical officer as he entered the bridge.

“Ah – Commander! I was just about to get you!” he said, offering no apologies.

Putting on a strained smile, Tamas held off on the scolding.

_This better be important._

“Go on, Lieutenant. What is it?”

“Well, we might have a problem Sir,” he explained as he led the Commander to one of the consoles.

“We’ve detected an encrypted signal originating from somewhere inside the ship,” the Lieutenant went on to say. “We don’t know what it is or who is sending it, but it hasn’t been authorized.”

He frowned and looked at the display. The computer was showing the different frequencies of the signal, which to the untrained eye looked like gibberish, but he saw a pattern.

“It’s repeating itself. Like a beacon,” the Commander realized.

“Yes Sir. We’re trying to locate the source as we speak, but it’s difficult with the equipment we have.”

His mind raced. It didn’t make sense, who would send a signal without his strict authorization?

“Shut down our communications systems,” he ordered.

“It won’t work Sir, none of our systems are transmitting. It’s foreign.”

His back grew tense.

“Could someone have placed a tracer on our hull?” he asked quickly.

“No Sir, the signal doesn’t match a tracer, but the computer isn’t done running the match yet. We’ll know what it is soon.”

He did a mental search of the ship, looking for any possible answer to this mystery.

_It can’t be a tracer and it’s not coming from our own systems. Then what the hell is it?_

_I’ll be damned if we’re taken down by cheap tricks._

The Commander made his way to the center of the bridge and pulled the Captain’s mic from its stand.

He activated all channels.

“Attention all hands, our position may have been compromised.”

The other crew occupying the various consoles on the bridge looked up.

“We are currently conducting a search for an unknown signal emanating from the ship. All pilots standby.”

As he put down the mic, the bridge erupted in activity. Officers started pouring in to occupy their battle positions along with technical staff. Through the front glass of the bridge, he saw the peculiar shape of Hoss’ ship fire up its engines. At least they were on their way on time, but there was no time to linger.

“Lieutenant! Keep me updated on that signal!” he called.

“Yes Sir, but something odd is happening.”

He moved to stand by the officer’s side immediately and the smell of sweat oozed of him.

“What’s happening? Go on.”

“Well Sir the - .. The signal is moving.”

_The beacon is on a person._

The Commander shouted across the bridge.

“Quick! Alert the crew that the signal generator is on a person. Conduct a search immediately!”

“Sir!” the officer shouted to get his attention.

He spun around again.

“You’ve found it?”

“No Sir, but the computer says it’s a hand-held com device. It’s - ..”

He was growing impatient with this man, but he hadn’t reached his limit yet.

“Go on,” he urged. “What is it?”

“It’s of an Imperial design Sir,” the officer reluctantly confirmed.

“What? Are you absolutely certain?”

“The computer is one hundred percent certain.”

He gnashed his teeth, ready to grab a blaster and help his men search the ship though he knew he couldn’t do that.

“It - .. It’s gone Sir. The signal is gone,” the officer informed him.

“What do you mean it’s _gone?_ ” he yelled.

_This doesn’t make any sense._

“It disappeared, just now Sir! None of our scanners can pick it up.”

From another console, a flight officer raised his voice.

“Commander! Reporting that the med transport has made its way into hyperspace!”

Realization dawned upon him like a splash of ice cold water.

Another officer shouted.

“Sir! An – An Imperial _stardestroyer_ has entered our vicinity!”

A collective gasp rose from the ensemble of command.

_They got us._

“Scramble all fighters and activate the shields!” he demanded.

The entire ship shook as green turbolasers exploded against the blue shields of the corvette.

 _Who the_ hell _gave us up?_

“Get a signal out to Fulcrum, now!” he ordered.

“They’re jamming our transmissions, Sir!”

“Enemy has launched TIE-fighters Sir!”

They had to get out of there.

“Program the navicomputer for emergency hyperspace jump immediately! Order all fighters to buy us time!”

It would take them a moment to align themselves, but it was the only chance they had. Their fate was in the hands of their pilots now.

“Sir, we’ve launched all fighters, but the enemy fighters outnumber ours at least five to one!”

“They just need to keep them off our tail until we can make the hyperspace jump,” he explained swiftly.

“Yes Sir!”

The Commander took a tight hold of the command seat he was standing behind, pearls of sweat stinging his eyes.

_Maybe I can buy us some time as well._

“Hail the stardestroyer.”

“We can’t Sir, we’re being jam- Wait, they’re hailing us!”

The holo transmitter was large enough to make the image appear natural in size. It was the hologram of an imperial officer dressed all in gray with three red squares over three blue on his chest.

“This is the Commander of the transport ship _Tecta._ Might I ask why you are assaulting us?”

_“You may skip the charade, dissident. Surrender immediately and we shall consider sparing your lives.”_

He couldn’t stand the arrogance in the man’s voice, but he was playing for time and he was running out of cards to play fast.

“Sir! We need about two more minutes for the hyperspace jump!” an officer called out.

Outside, green flashes lighted up the shields.

“We’re not dissidents,” he lied to the image. “Cease firing at us and send a boarding party. You will see that I speak the truth.”

That only made the Imperial officer smirk.

_Disgusting._

_“Deactivate your shields and withdraw all of your fighters and_  then _we may speak of a ceasefire.”_

The Commander snorted.

“What, so you can shoot us down like dogs?”

_“You mean like you did our transports?”_

“What transports?” he tried, silently cursing Captain Tikira for being so vicious.

_“We have nothing left to discuss.”_

The image crackled and then vanished.

“Sir, they’re jamming all of our transmissions.”

He cursed himself.

“How are our fighters doing?” he asked.

“We’ve lost four Sir, we have -”

A bright explosion just outside rocked the bridge.

“- We have three left, Sir.”

_At this rate we’ll be dead within five minutes._

“How long till hyperspace jump?” he pressed, holding on as another close hit sent tremors through the ship.

“Sir, we – we’ve lost the hyperdrive!”

_Damn it all._

There was no way to escape now, but that didn’t mean the traitor was going to get away.

“Send the coordinates to all of the fighters, inform them that we have a traitor in our midst and that whoever it is, is onboard the med transport!”

“Yes Sir! Shall I tell the crew to evacuate?”

It would probably be better to die than endure Imperial captivity, but his men should be allowed to make that choice for themselves. With a heavy sigh he gave the officer a nod.

“Evacuate! All hands, evacuate!”

The sound of klaxons filled the ship. Then the blasts of the escape pods launching reverberated throughout the hull.

He watched the bulbous shapes, each carrying up to ten men, glide a few hundred meters from the ship before they were vaporized. His officers called out in horror, putting down their headsets as they came to realize that there was no way out now.

They were all going to die.

The ship listed as the stabilizers gave out. Red warning lights flooded the bridge and the emergency shut-down procedure began, closing the bridge off from the rest of the vessel. Officers and crew crowded the massive door, hammering it in some vain attempt to escape this madness.

He stood at his seat, wondering how he’d not seen this coming. He’d always known he was going to meet his end in combat, but not quite like this. Betrayed from within, stabbed in the back by one of his own. Of the people on the transport the only ones he didn’t know properly was the jedi, but that made no sense.

_Why would a jedi betray us?_

Outside, interceptors fought desperately to get out of the swarm of Imperial TIE-fighters to make the hyperspace jump, but there were just too many of them.

_It can’t be her._

Part of the bridge erupted in flames. He was faintly aware that an officer was shaking him, screaming at him to give orders, but he had no orders left to give.

_Who?_

_Why?_

The glass imploded and then everything went black.

 

* * *

* * *

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

 

* * *

* * *

 

 

 

“You should really get some sleep,” Hoss proposed.

It took a moment for Dreem to comprehend that she had spoken.

“Yeah I should,” he said in a groggy voice as he stretched out in the co-pilot’s seat. Then he spoke through a yawn: “I just can’t.”

The pilot’s seat complained as Hoss sat down.

“You worry too much,” she claimed.

He studied her for a moment.

The woman took pride in looking like a scoundrel – or least he thought so. The varied clothes she styled herself with did give her that look, but it was obvious to anyone with a bit of experience that she wasn’t dangerous. Not to say she couldn’t pack a punch, but she didn’t have that killer instinct others did. She wasn’t a hard criminal. She wasn’t a murderer.

“Is there something stuck in my teeth?” she asked suddenly and he realized he was staring.

“Ah no… No,” he said slowly and put his gaze on the vastness of hyperspace instead.

“We might be headed into a fight you know,” Hoss continued.

He was well aware of that.

“Do you want me to find some of those level 435 pills?” she offered. “They’ll do you good.”

_What?_

He shook his head and frowned.

“I don’t need drugs to get me through this, Hoss, this isn’t the first time I’ve gone without sleep for a day.”

She started flipping her blaster and sent him a cocky grin.

“Relax Mister Holy, it’s sleeping pills.”

_Oh right._

He sucked in a breath through his nostril and exhaled a yawn into his hand.

“No, I’ll be fine,” he replied. “But thanks.”

Hoss shrugged her shoulders.

“Suit yourself.”

After that exchange, they both sat in silence for a while. He watched the stars fly by at lightspeed and let his thoughts flow freely.

_Will I ever find them?_

Not a day went by without his thoughts touching his lost family. He refused to believe they were dead, but it was a bilateral statement. He had heard of the Empire’s vivid usage of slave labor so to believe they were still alive gave him hope, but that they were only alive to work in one of the Empire’s slave operations disturbed him immensely.

He shifted in his seat.

_So many lives shattered by the Empire, it’s a wonder it hasn’t crumbled yet._

He reckoned it was held together by fear alone. People were afraid to even speak out against the Empire. Doing so had consequences, but the galaxy was a large place and if one was a little careful, it was possible to slip through their fingers. Their particular cell had gone under the radar of Imperial forces for months. He didn’t know every type of operation they had conducted in that time, but the ones Hoss and him were sent on were typically scavenge missions or deliveries. Most of it had been food supplies to needing communities and it made him feel good to know that their actions had made a difference, but he always had a nagging feeling at the back of his mind.

He didn’t want to do good for everyone, he wanted to save his family.

He had made Commander Tamas understand that from the first day and the aged leader had promised that in due time, they would do something about it. He wasn’t selfish enough to demand that the entire cell change its course for his crusade, but he knew he wasn’t the only one who had an interest in freeing slaves. Captain Tikira was from Ryloth too. A larger village than his and he had heard that the atrocities committed by the Empire there far surpassed what he had experienced.

There was a great interest in recruiting more people too, and if they liberated an entire colony, how many of them wouldn’t want to take up arms to fight back at those who subjugated them?

All of the sudden, something was off in the cockpit. He noticed that Hoss had ceased spinning the blaster in her hands.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

She didn’t answer him immediately, but eventually, she slumped back in the chair and breathed a reply.

“I’m not really sure,” she said. “You know the jedi, right?”

He was the leading expert on the subject among his associates, that much was true.

“I know them to an extent, yes.”

“Well, what are they supposed to be like?” she asked.

He didn’t know what had warranted her sudden curiosity, but he jumped at the chance to convey what he knew. It wasn’t every day she actively sought his wisdom.

Brushing away empty ration packs from his lap, he sat up straight.

Hoss looked at him like she was actually listening for once.

“I can only tell you what I remember,” he started off. “The jedi are compassionate, honorable and powerful beyond our understanding because of the force.”

“The force? Aint that just some mystical nonsense?” she said as she began flipping the blaster in her hands again.

He frowned slightly, shaking his head.

 “No, no.. It’s real enough. I asked about it once, but the reply I got was pretty - .. well, _mysterious._ ”

He rubbed his beardless chin as he recalled the words.

“The force is what connects us all, flows through everyone and everything,” he recited.

Hoss made some incredulous sound and shook her head rapidly.

“Alright, you’ve lost me.”

He threw up his hands.

“I don’t know what it means either, but I know it works. I’ve _seen_ jedi using the force to move objects, jump impossibly high and more.”

She didn’t look convinced, but he wasn’t interested in trying to satisfy her standards. She’d see for herself someday.

“Riiight.. Well, anyway, why aren’t you in the cabin? It’s not your watch.”

_Yeah why am I in the cockpit?_

He was pretty exhausted and there wasn’t much in the way of comfort in the co-pilot’s seat of the odd transport, but he couldn’t sleep in his cabin and if he wasn’t going to sleep anyway, he might as well sit somewhere with a view.

“I like your company,” he said, trying to sound funny.

Hoss scoffed.

“Charming, but I’ll pass.”

He tried on his best smile, but it didn’t feel very convincing. That sinking feeling he had felt in his stomach had only grown worse since they left the corvette and it kept gnawing at him like a stomachache. It tore on his strength, but there was nothing he could do about it. He had considered asking Adder about it since jedi always seemed to be experts on omens – at least in his eyes, but she had been meditating in her cabin ever since they took off.

_It’s probably nothing._

Suddenly anxious to think of something else, he blurted out a question.

“What do you call that thing anyway?”

“This?” she said, looking to the blaster that she was spinning for the umpteenth time.

He nodded.

She halted its motion and brought it closer into the light with some excessive gesture she had practiced a thousand times.

“This baby- “ she started off like she thought he was genuinely interested. “ –is a priceless rarity. Top quality.”

He could see every little detail of it. It was squarish in design, small and the blemished surface of the metal belied the notion that it was quality. To him, it looked kind of Imperial which meant it was properly as common as space dust, but he didn’t say that.

“I call it _Shilka_ ,” she continued, “it’s a WESTAR-35, but I modified it a bit.”

_Why does she modify everything?_

The model designation rang no bells in his head, but he got curious.

“What does that name mean?” he asked.

She held it up and aimed the weapon at the cockpit windows.

“No idea, thought it sounded good.”

He sighed.

_Smugglers._

Before she could go on about the finer details of the blaster, a warning sounded.

“Finally,” Hoss stated, “we’re nearing our destination.”

_About time._

“I’ll prepare coms with the escort,” he said and turned to arrange the set frequencies they always used on such missions.

“Good and maybe you should wake up our companion in the back,” Hoss finished.

“I am awake,” Adder injected.

Both pilots glanced over their shoulders.

The mirialan jedi stood tall with her hands locked behind her back. Her eyes were strictly forwards on empty space.

“Oh Adder, hey. Didn’t notice ya’ there,” Hoss said as she realigned her focus to what was going on outside the cockpit.

Dreem raised a hand in a mute greeting and then went back to work with the coms.

_Getting way too sleepy here._

“You haven’t been having nightmares again?” Hoss asked as the ship exited hyperspace with a shudder and she took over manual control.

“I’ve been meditating. Where are we?” she asked quickly, but Dreem couldn’t make it out either.

Right in front of them was a dark, barren moon where large rocky ravines ran through empty wasteland. There was a purple shine to its atmosphere. Definitely not a hospitable place, but before he concluded anything, he glanced to their pilot.

She imitated the voice of an interplanetary shuttle driver.

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to ORT45M.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

He had never heard of that place before.

“Which means?” Dreem asked as Hoss didn’t explain it further.

“It’s a mining moon,” Adder complimented. “Imperial.”

Hoss wrinkled a brow.

“Yes, it is. How’d you know?” she asked as they entered the atmosphere.

But before Adder could answer, the coms crackled and Dreem silently cursed himself for losing track of his duties.

_“You’re supposed to contact your damn escort as soon as you exit hyperspace y–“_

Dreem flipped the switch to speak into the mic, overruling any other transmission on the short range escort link he had set up.

“This is the _Anguilli,_ we have exited hyperspace and..”

He gave himself a small pause, wanting Tikira’s rage to subside before he continued.

“.. we suggest you stay in tight defensive formation around us for now.”

He reluctantly let go of the mic and was relieved to hear silence.

“You handled that pretty well,” Hoss grinned while clutching the control yoke, guiding them closer to the murky surface of the moon.

_I’ll be hearing for that later._

Outside, he saw the interceptors close in on them, complying with his request for now. He wasn’t permitted a break, however, as the medium range coms started.

_“This is the Imperial Mining Corporation garrison on Imperial mining moon ORT45M.”_

Hoss and Dreem exchanged glances.

_“State your name and purpose here.”_

“You better tell me this was part of the plan,” Hoss’ disconcerted voice said.

He didn’t have a clue what was going on. Why would the Commander send them to such a place? Regardless, he had to do something so he picked up the mic and thought for a moment, then activated it.

“This is the transport ship _Anguilli._ We are carrying med supplies for the garrison,” he tried and then observed the others hopefully.

Adder looked completely unstricken by the situation, but Hoss listened as carefully as he did to the reply.

_“Affirmative Anguilli. You may proceed to landing pad six, be advised that the atmosphere is_ not _breathable.”_

“Roger that, we’ll be landing immediately,” he finished.

As he put the mic back in its holder, Hoss voiced his exact thoughts.

“They didn’t give us an approach vector?”

“Apparently not - something is off,” he added.

“And they didn’t threaten to kill us should we veer from it,” Adder interjected.

_That’s also true._

They didn’t usually treat civilians very well, working them like captives most of the time and taking what liberties they wanted in insulting and frightening them. Something was definitely off about this. Not even considering the fact that they had an escort with them which to Imperial standards must have been seen as abnormal.

“I’ll let the escort know we’re landing. Stay on guard, I don’t like this,” he informed them.

“There is no need to worry,” Adder said mysteriously. “These are not Imperials.”

“How do you know?” he asked automatically, but he got his answer when he saw two A-wings coming their way.

_A-ha._

He couldn’t stop himself from smiling.

_“Sorry about that boys, welcome to_ former _Imperial mining moon ORT45M.”_

A rebel cell must have destroyed the place and he wasn’t the only one happy about that. Hoss gave out a cheer and he heard a mixture of ‘Oh yeah’s and ‘Nice!’ from the short range link. Adder’s face remained a neutral mask, but he’d accepted by now that that was simply how she was. The smiles didn’t come to her unless you talked her into them.

As they descended down a deep cylindrical shaft of cliff walls, Dreem noticed they passed through a protective field. It was akin to those found on larger vessels, protecting an open hangar from the hazardous vacuum of space – or in this case the unbreathable atmosphere. At the bottom, the _Anguillia_ touched down gently and the scanners told them that the place wasn’t hazardous to living beings.

He hadn’t been to a mining facility before, but the idea of living and breathing without seeing the light of day unnerved him. He could only imagine what horrors the Empire exposed their subjects to here.

“Opening the ramp now,” Hoss stated, already on her way out of the cockpit. “I’m gonna take a break, you haul the crates this time.”

“Seems fair,” he reasoned and got up from his seat.

He swung his blaster rifle on his back before starting towards the cargo hold. Adder followed him wordlessly through the piles of crates. As he stepped out unto the hangar deck riddled with red dust, he saw the four fighters of the escort land. There was plenty of space on the circular landing site and three large tunnel openings all conjoined here. From what he guessed was the main tunnel, he saw a crowd of besalisks approaching. They were dressed in work suits that were so stained with soot that he could only barely tell that they were once yellow.

_Miners?_

“You’re a sight for sore eyes!” one of them called out.

Dreem waved at him and remembered to put on a friendly smile.

Adder didn’t say anything.

“The transport is filled with med supplies,” he said quickly and then took a look at the weary faces around him.

“What happened here?” Dreem asked the besalisk who had stepped out in front.

He hadn’t seen many besalisks in his time, but this one looked old. His heavy, reptile features were gnarled, all four of his bare arms littered with cuts and faded scars. He was the living image of a person who’d worked hard all his life. His voice was friendly enough, albeit a bit rough.

“I cannot thank you enough, friend. We couldn’t have overpowered the Imperials without the help of your friends, but even so, we took some heavy losses,” he informed them.

The rebellion stretched much further than Dreem knew of apparently. It wasn’t at all a bad thought, however it did worry him to know how costly it had become.

“We’ve been out of stock for days,” he went on, as two of his arms made humble gestures, the other two motioned for his crew to get to work. “If you hadn’t arrived now, I’m afraid more of my people would have died.”

A dozen or so of the besalisk miners sat to work unloading the transport and Dreem felt a mixture of worry and relief at the same time. They’d been right on time, but then again, they hadn’t known how urgent it was.

“Is there anything we can do?” he asked with concern.

The besalisk shook his head.

“Not unless you’ve got healers with you. We’ve gathered up our wounded in connecting tunnel B-4.”

Dreem turned to Adder, but she wasn’t moving. She didn’t even look their way.

“Sergeant Telbud!”

It was Tikira’s voice.

Dreem exhaled and gave the besalisk a nod. The next thing on their agenda was to link up with the rebel cell in the area, but he had more questions. Were there only besalisks here? What were they mining? Did they know of other mining moons?

_Perhaps they’ve seen twi’lek slaves._

“Yes, Captain?” he said as he turned around to meet the imposing woman.

“I see you’ve already made arrangements to get the supplies off the transport,” she began as she stood before him with the flight helmet under her arm.

“I have. Should w-“

“Good, now let’s have a chat with whoever is leading this cell. You two come with me.”

Dreem had been commanded about many times before by Tikira, but she still managed to make him hate it every time. Rolling a shoulder to unwind his tension, he followed along with the Captain’s hasty strides. She was headed down the main tunnel like she knew which direction to take so he simply walked in her steps with Adder beside him.

He wanted to ask if there was anything Adder could do to help the wounded, but then again, if there was, she’d probably already be doing it. Or perhaps she wanted to complete their mission as soon as possible. They had delivered the supplies, so all that was left was to hook up with Fulcrum. He was looking forward to that, but it bothered him to know there were so many people in need here and that there was nothing more he could do.

_Looks like she’s bothered by it too._

 

 

* * *

 

 

_How did a bunch of unintelligent lizards and a handful of rebels overthrow an Imperial garrison?_

The Inquisitor squinted at the rusty red rocks as if they had been accomplices in this act. Heavy equipment lay scattered around the cavernous tunnel and the three of them had to walk around tunneling machinery more than once. She had no idea what the Empire wanted from this moon, but if she had to take a guess, she’d say some sort of metal. The air was heavy and difficult to breathe, but what was worse, was the fact that she’d _never_ get all of that dust out of her clothes again.

_Barriss’ clothes,_ she corrected herself.

Her hands were prickling to wield the lightsaber. It had been approximately two days since she’d gone undercover and most of that time had been spent in hyperspace. Meditation worked well to let her release her frustrations, but she lacked more physical satisfaction. It was necessary to remind herself of the power she could summon.

The twi’lek Captain who walked in front was unstable. She’d realized that just from the few sentences she’d heard from her. The Captain’s voice was almost without the typical twi’lek accent and her demeanor ironically reminiscent of that of an Imperial officer.  The force showed her many things and it showed her the clear signs of hate radiating off this rebel woman. There was no doubt that she had it in for the Empire.

The Inquisitor’s lips curled ever so slightly.

It was pleasing to watch. To sense the knot of hatred that refused to untie in the Captain’s stomach, to listen to the distressing memories that the Captain kept reliving. The idea of giving her a miniscule push to send her down to even deeper anguish was far too tempting. While it would definitely yield a great amount of delight, it was detrimental to the success of her mission. She couldn’t have some mad woman ticking off before she had gotten her hands on the jedi, but it was good to know she _could_ tick her off.

Meanwhile, the Captain’s suffering reminded her of the hapless mirialan she enjoyed torturing too.

_Are you listening Barriss? Or have you finally decided to give in?_

The tunnel grew narrower and she realized they were headed for something that had been _built_ and not dug out of the walls. Stepping inside what looked like an Imperial modular structure, she felt immediately at ease by the more stringent shapes and generic white light. It was like a breath of fresh air, although the heavy atmosphere was no different in there.

She wondered how far the tunnel system spread throughout the moon. There hadn’t been that many miners in the hangar, so if she were to guess based on sheer numbers, she’d guess not far.

“You there!” the Captain called out.

“Captain Tikira, is it?” a second voice responded.

It was a rebel trooper that much was obvious by his way of dressing. He was clad in almost completely similar rags as the male twi’lek. 

“Yes, how’d you know?” Tikira said.

“We’ve got a connection to the hangar you arrived in. Drikk’s told us you arrived with the supplies?”

“Drikk is the besalisk?” she asked and then added: “and yes, we have.”

The trooper spoke something into a wrist com and then gestured for the three of them to approach. It wasn’t until the Inquisitor had passed the man that she saw he was armed with a plasma torch – a tool used for carving through particularly tough areas of rock or metal.

_Must have been a desperate struggle at the very least._

They entered a larger room which she recognized as being a surveillance room. Consoles and monitors littered the walls and she knew they had been used to keep an eye on every speck of dirt in the cave system.  Many of them were dotted with blaster impacts, broken or otherwise useless now. There were some spatters of blood here and there, but the corpses had all been removed.

“Through here you’ll find the command central. Lieutenant Fulsae is waiting for you,” the trooper informed them before saluting smartly and standing aside.

Captain Tikira and Dreem returned it, but the Inquisitor moved past without so much as a glance in his direction. She was curious to see what kind of person had taken over this place. As far as she could make out, the garrison must have consisted of at least a hundred men if not more. Admittedly, there were no signs of Imperial vehicles such as TIE-fighters or AT-ST’s which should have been numerous at such a site.

“Welcome, I’m Lieutenant Fulsae Jaksam and boy am I glad to see you here.”

The woman who spoke was middle-aged, wearing the same officer’s uniform as Commander Tamas had worn, though she didn’t seem to put as much effort into it. Her otherwise pale complexion was broken by band aids scattered about her cheeks. Fragmentation wounds, no doubt, but she still managed to look lively with the ruby red hair she had tied up in a ponytail behind her capped head.

“Captain Tikira Omastraka. This is Sergeant Telbud and Adder.”

The Captain motioned to each in turn as she introduced them and they both inclined their heads politely.

“Adder?” the Lieutenant asked curiously.

“A cover name,” Captain Tikira explained. “She is a jedi.”

The Lieutenant’s eyes widened, but then she nodded slowly, understanding the need for secrecy.

Dreem shot the Captain a glance, clearing his throat.

The Captain seemed unaware of what Dreem was trying to point out until he raised an arm and gestured towards the other people in the room. There were two more troopers in the room who stood with their backs turned towards them. Their blasters were trained on two captives kneeling on the floor with their hands on the back of their heads. They could not have avoided hearing that.

_Imperial officers who surrendered?_

The Inquisitor knew it was entirely likely, but to give up in the face of such a disastrous defeat? Death would have been better – no doubt the reward they would receive should they ever make it of this alive. Had it been another installation, perhaps the rebels would have seen fit to give them a chance to become turncoats. But when said captives had operated a slave facility? They’d have better chances trying to breathe in space.

“We’ve made our base here in the central command structure,” the Lieutenant went on. “We have control of all outgoing communication from here, along with surveillance of the cave system, processing plants and living quarters.”

The Lieutenant breathed out a sigh as she opened up a console and motioned for them to step closer.

“My orders were to assault the mining moon and supply the miners with weapons,” she said as she pushed buttons on the console keyboard. “Our intelligence suggested that the garrison consisted of about a hundred Imperial troopers along with about twenty TIE-fighters and a handful of walkers.”

Recordings of several surveillance cameras appeared on the console monitor in a four-by-four square matrix.

None of them said anything for a moment. All of the squares were dark or obstructed by something.

“Apparently, the garrison had been thinned out a day before we attacked,” she revealed and then pressed a button, making the four squares cycle through several camera angles, all showing the same dark, obstructed image.

“With no TIE-fighters and no walkers, their defensive plan had changed from overwhelming force to ‘destroy everything’.”

The Inquisitor suppressed a pernicious grin.

“They had rigged the entire cave system to collapse and those who weren’t outright crushed, most likely suffocated from the resulting spread of the toxic atmosphere.”

“We’re all that’s left of the strike force,” she finished with dreadful finality.

The Inquisitor felt the fury seethe from the Captain through the force just moments before she heard the deft thud of someone getting whacked.

Captain Tikira stood over one of the captive officers and was spewing out some verbal curse in her barbaric twi’lek language. The officer held a hand to his nose that was smeared in blood. It amused the Inquisitor to no end, but the others were abhorred by it.

“What about your ships? What about the miners?” Dreem asked quickly. No one moved to assist the recovering captive and no one dared reprimand the Captain.

Lieutenant Fulsae made a grimace and shook her head.

“The ships we arrived in were docked at other hangars,” she explained. “The tunnels leading there have been either destroyed or flooded with toxic fumes. With regards to the miners, there are those you met in the hangar and then there’s about twice that many who are wounded and are currently receiving medical attention by their own.”

“But how do you intend to get out of here then? Is someone coming for you?” the twi’lek Sergeant asked further.

The Lieutenant’s gaze went from him to Adder and then she replied.

“We’re expecting Fulcrum today. She is bringing along enough ships to get us all out of here.”

_She? And she’s bringing an entire fleet to the slaughter._

The Captain spoke up once the peak of her rage had subsided.

“What about the Imperials? How many captives do you have? And why haven’t they tried to retake the moon?”

If the Lieutenant was perturbed by the rapid questions, she didn’t show it.

“Some of them could have survived the cave-ins, I suppose, but I believe most are dead. We’ve got about ten captives of whom two are the officers you see here and one is the mining contractor.”

“Mining contractor?” Dreem broke in.

“Yes, the guy who was running the place for the Empire,” she explained swiftly and then moved on. “We’ve been jamming their transmissions since we started the assault, so it’s unlikely anyone knows the moon has been taken. However, they will know once the regular shipment doesn’t arrive on schedule.”

“We expect a military response in about three days, but we’ll be on the other side of the galaxy by then,” she concluded with a smile probably intended to lift their spirits, but the Inquisitor saw straight through it.

_Much sooner than that._

“Who is she?” the Inquisitor inquired, changing the subject.

The hazel eyes of the Lieutenant beamed uncertainty for a moment, but then she understood the question.

“You haven’t met her yet?” she said needlessly. “She’s relatively new, but her intel has always been on point.”

Flaunting a tight smile, the Inquisitor pushed on while the three others watched her.

“I understand that, but I need to know what she _looks like_. What’s her name? Do you know the color of her lightsaber?”

There were few jedi knights the Inquisitor could not take on, especially with an army at her back, but a jedi master _might_ be able to slip between her fingers.

“Well eh- …” the Lieutenant hesitated, touching her cap. “I haven’t seen her in _person,_ but you’ll see her once she arrives.”

“You’ve seen her through holo transmissions?” the Inquisitor asked, not letting the Lieutenant off the hook just yet.

“Yes, but she was always hooded. I couldn’t see –“

Her wrist com crackled and a voice spoke up.

_“Lieutenant Fulsae, this is Corporal Jeeks. You better get in here.”_

“Coming,” she replied swiftly. “I’ll have to check this out, you can take the officer’s quarters if you’d like to rest a bit. My men will take care of the supplies and if you need refueling, just let Drikk know.”

There would be no more information gathering from Lieutenant Fulsae for now, but it didn’t seem like she knew anything of use. The Inquisitor required a moment to think over her options. She didn’t have as much to go on as she would have liked, but it was good enough. She could make a plan.

“I’ll retire then. Do tell me if Fulcrum arrives,” she told them before turning sharply for the quarters. She didn’t need anyone to show her the way and while it was certainly interesting to observe the Captain take out her frustrations on the captives, she had work to do.

She vaguely heard Dreem ask for the mining contractor before she slipped out into a connecting corridor. It was a short walk to one of the officer’s cabins, which had an interior even more compact than the cabins on Hoss’ ship. They had only the bare minimum of necessities. A desk, a bed and a small refreshing room. Everything was square in shape and of a solid metal fabric – just the way she liked it.

She sat down on the hard bed and took up her com device. She considered what she should write, seeing as a voice message was too risky at the moment. Especially with all the surveillance Imperial facilities usually contained. Thinking twice, she relocated to the refreshing room, just to be absolutely certain no one was looking over her shoulder.

The rebel cell had to have been destroyed by now, but how should she plan her next move? The troops on the ground along with the miners would stand no chance against an Imperial stardestroyer. She could perhaps even incapacitate them all by herself, but it would be meaningless if she didn’t have Fulcrum. The elusive jedi was a _she_ which narrowed down the possibilities of her identity, however it didn’t help much in determining what her course of action should be. If she was a jedi master, the Inquisitor was looking at a challenge. While she might be able to take on a master, the possibility that the jedi could make an escape was too great.

The Inquisitor turned her lips inwards and bit down.

_I cannot let that happen._

If she didn’t produce any results with her reckless venture soon, the Inquisitorius would almost certainly assume she had either gone rogue or worse, _incompetent._ She had requisitioned precious Imperial assets for her mission and that meant a failure would result in severe punishment, most likely death. That would be preferable to the alternative. If she had gone rogue, there would be a massive manhunt to hunt her down and even though that might also end with her death, it could also end with something far _far_ worse.

The cell.

She felt a shudder spread throughout her body.

_Anything but_ that.

Memories threatened to emerge, but she forced herself back into the moment. She had to plan this assault so that there would be no chance of failure. Engaging her strategic mind, she gave it a ponder.

The solution which would yield the highest chance of success, would be to wait for the jedi to arrive. Wait for her to enter the cave system and then trap her somehow, perhaps destroy all the ships in the hangar bay and then have the Imperial forces assault the moon. It meant that the Inquisitor had to stall the jedi long enough for the landing to take place – something that might be difficult. The chances that a jedi wouldn’t recognize her was exceedingly slim so she would have to fight.

But it was the best chance she had. Stall the jedi, let them start the evacuation and then hit them when they’re vulnerable. A simple plan, but the force stirred and sent her confidence wavering.

Breathing out, she reached up to remove the simple black hair cover. Her dark-brown hair didn’t reach her shoulders, but it was long enough to satisfy her standards. It was almost a foreign sensation to feel the strands stroke against her skin. She realized she missed the pointy black helmet, the dark shoulder pads emblazoned with the white Imperial cog. The power the uniform of an Imperial Inquisitor projected was staggering. Not many understood who Inquisitors were or what they were capable of, but glance at them and people knew to be _afraid._

She guffawed. That was the key word.

_Afraid? Why am I afraid?_

As her face split into a grin, she felt the force bend to her whims.

_An Imperial Inquisitor afraid of a jedi?_

She ran a hand through her hair and then took up the com device. The dark side coursed through her, empowering her self-confidence and beseeching her to fuel its nature. To wreak havoc, to rip apart these insufferable dissidents – to savor the suffering of the weak.

And that was exactly what she was going to do.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The lines of text skittered across the screen.

Harmless words on a black monitor, but the implication was like a blow to his guts.

_Does she think we’re her pawns to move around as she pleases?_

The Imperial Captain took a deep breath, the simple gesture enough to unnerve the technician who was manning the console before him.

“What shall we reply, Sir?” an officer asked from behind him.

The Captain put great emphasis on obedience and discipline and he was in theory obligated to assist the Inquisitor in whatever way required of him when a jedi was involved. But could a glorified mystic really demand the attention of a force as large as a _stardestroyer_?

_Eight thousand officers._

_Twenty-five thousand crew._

_Five thousand stormtroopers._

_All of that to catch some lunatic? Some crazed mystic?_

The puny ‘rebel cell’ they had been called in to evaporate had been nearly a waste of time. While it was always good work to eradicate nonconformists, he had thought he was headed into a battle, not a complete slaughter. He tightened his fists by the sheer _audacity_ of the Inquisitor.

Even though he had gone along with the orders to destroy them all, he felt that the Inquisitor at the _very least_ could have listened to his appeal that they execute the rebels publicly to discourage further actions of the sort. But as expected, her instructions had been strict and immovable. Destroy the rebel cell and wait for further orders.

Well, they had been waiting for nearly a day now and then finally, the Inquisitor had deigned to transmit a message outlining their new orders. There was no doubt this Inquisitor saw them as underlings fit only to be used in a wasteful struggle against a dying species of mystics. He didn’t know if his men felt the same way, but he was not about to let an upstart Inquisitor treat him like her pet. He wasn’t about to tell his superiors that he’d been absent from his duties because some ambitious _assassin_ wanted him to do her job.

“Sir?”

“Inform the Inquisitor that the _Exactoris_ will make the jump immediately,” he ordered.

 “Yes, Captain.”

“And Lieutenant,” he added. “Prepare another message.”

“For who, Sir?”

“Coruscant.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Dreem considered himself a modest man. He didn’t take any pleasure in cruelty and he didn’t feel good about killing people, but he understood the necessity of it. Sometimes, a bit of cruelty could make killing superfluous.

How odd that sounded in his mind.

Captain Tikira stood over their captive. The Imperial contractor who had been in charge of the mining operation on the moon spat a lump of blood on the dusty metal floor, raising his gaze to stare at Tikira in defiance.

“I see how it is,” he said, his breathing strained and his eyes filled with spite. “You’re looking for your friends, aren’t you?”

“I’m asking the questions here!” the Captain shouted, rewarding the man with a blow to his temple.

Being tied by both hands and feet, he couldn’t defend himself, but to his credit, he managed not to fall over.

“So I was right,” he continued, without a care for his own well-being. “Family, maybe?”

“ _Shut up!_ ”

Dreem stood by as Captain Tikira grabbed him by his Imperial coat and pulled him to his feet. She was a lot stronger than she appeared, he noticed. Or perhaps it was the rage driving her.

“Answer the question or I’ll carve it out of you,” she threatened in a voice hoarse with hate.

The captive flashed a bloodied smile.

“Do you really think they’d use twi’lek in a mine?” he mocked.

The Captain’s jaw clenched and Dreem knew it would be impossible to stop her now.

“Your kind are fit only for more .. _exotic_ purposes.”

_That bastard._

Dreem felt his chest clench and tried hard not to think of his family’s fate. It helped a bit to watch Captain Tikira throw him to the floor, but when she started kicking him in the guts, he was only reminded more of what the Empire had done.

The man vomited blood and tried to curl up to protect his torso, but that only made the Captain target his face instead. The blood was pooling up and the man offered less and less resistance.

Dreem wrinkled his nose. He knew the man deserved it, but the gory mess the man’s face was turning into was almost too much for him – and Captain Tikira still didn’t stop. It wasn’t until the man stopped moving that she stepped back and looked at what she had done. Her breathing was fast and the lower parts of her orange flight suit were stained with blood, not to mention her boots.

“Are you good?” Dreem asked, trying to figure out what state the Captain was in now.

“Yeah,” she said between breaths. “Fantastic.”

She poked the man with a boot and frowned when he didn’t move.

“I should have cut his fingers off first,” she said with a snort.

He knew she would and was relieved it hadn’t come to that.

“All the same, I don’t think he knew anything anyway.”

The Captain was glaring down at the grizzly corpse while she brought her breathing under control.

“You think he was lying?” she said suddenly.

He touched his lekku, trying to think. It was getting harder to focus properly – he’d really need to get some rest soon.

“He must have known we wouldn’t let him live,” he reasoned, “and even if we did, the miners would surely have done worse to him.”

“Maybe he just wanted to provoke us,” he suggested.

She shook her head and finally turned away from the dead man.

“Maybe, but you know how the galaxy sees our species,” she said with scorn. “I don’t see why the Empire would see us differently.”

He knew exactly what she meant. His species along with a few select others were seen as especially attractive to many of the other humanoid races of the galaxy. Before the Empire took control, twi’lek servants, dancers or handmaidens were as common as dirt. With the Empire in control, they had become even more common, which was ironic for an Empire that tried to portray humanity as above the other species in the galaxy.

He followed her through the door into the corridor, but after only a few steps she halted and looked at him.

“If he was telling the truth,” she said to him, “is there any way for us to find them?”

There wasn’t much of a chance. He was surprised she was even asking him. Surely she knew it too.

“It’s unlikely the Empire kept them together,” he said honestly and while it made his heart sink to think about it, he couldn’t lie to himself. “They’ve most likely been sold at some slave auction and scattered across the galaxy.”

It wasn’t very comforting, but he didn’t think the Captain needed any comfort from him. While he respected her endeavor to free their enslaved people, she was heartless and downright cynical at times in her approach. He didn’t doubt for a second that she’d sacrifice him and his mission if it meant her success.

But it was difficult to deny the emotion in her eyes. He couldn’t tell whether she was furious or sad.

“I swear they’ll all pay for what they did,” she said bitterly.

He couldn’t agree more, but he had a feeling her hate ran much deeper than his did.

“At some point they will, but I won’t focus on revenge before I know for _certain_ that they’re all gone.”

He didn’t know how he would react if they were all dead. He preferred not to think about it.

Captain Tikira’s wrist com lit up and they both listened in as Hoss’ concerned voice spoke up.

_“Captain, you better come down to the hangar.”_

“What is it? What’s going on?” the Captain asked swiftly, already walking with Dreem in tow.

_“A ship land- well.._ crashed _in the hangar.”_

“Whose ship?”

_“They’re pulling the pilot out now.”_

They stared at the circular communications device strapped to Captain Tikira’s wrist as they waited. It was pulsating a light blue color every time a bit of static caught on the other end.

_“I think it’s Tapham, Captain.”_

 

 

* * *

 

The Inquisitor had barely been left alone for an hour before Dreem came bursting through the door. She had felt his uneasiness already when he stepped into the corridor, so in order to get whatever it was he wanted over with as fast as possible, she was already up from her meditative position and waiting for whatever he had to say.

He looked a bit startled to see her, but then quickly composed himself.

“Tapham is here, I think you need to see him.”

_The human pilot._

“Tapham? Why is he here?” she asked automatically, leaving the room with him to head for the tunnels leading to the hangar.

“I don’t know,” he said. “He crashed and Hoss says his fighter is ‘all shot up’.”

When the Inquisitor looked at him for clarification he pulled his shoulders in a shrug.

“I have no idea what’s going on. He should have been with the cell doing practice.”

She tightened her fists as anger built up inside.

_A fighter escaped a stardestroyer? Incompetent fools._

If the rebels learned of what happened to the cell, they’d be on guard, but the first question in her mind wasn’t how such a thing could have happened.

_How did he get the coordinates?_

Only the Commander and Hoss knew them. Did that mean the Commander had survived too? Had he sent the boy after them just to save the boy’s life or to warn them? She decided she’d get her answers when she saw the boy, but it had to be before he said too much.

“Where is the boy now?” she asked.

“Hoss took him to the place where the rest of the miners are. She’s trying to get him to talk.”

Seconds away from exploding in a fit of ill-concealed rage, she reached out with the force to unwind and found the shape of something rectangular.

One of the square lights in the ceiling died with a short, metallic screech.

Dreem looked up, but didn’t comment on the sudden outage of a single light. He didn’t notice the eyes that glared at his back either.

_Not yet, not yet._

_Soon._

It was a mantra she had to repeat to herself several times to quell the rising urge. The dark side cried out for much more elaborate release, but she couldn’t now. Not when she was so close to catching the jedi.

As the exit of the Imperial structure got closer, the durasteel floor become increasingly dirty with the red dust. They walked by what looked like a coms room and out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the orange skinned Captain in the bright-orange flight suit. She was glaring skeptically at Lieutenant Fulsae while they exchanged words over something on a screen.

“This doesn’t bode well,” Dreem said and caught her attention. “I’ve had a bad feeling for a long time and I don’t like what this looks like.”

“What does it look like?” she asked neutrally, masking the hatred in her eyes by concerning herself with navigating the uneven surface of the tunnel.

“I don’t know, but why would he be here? Something must have happened.”

“You’re tired and on edge, Dreem,” she countered. “Don’t stress yourself needlessly with speculation.”

_It won’t help you regardless._

She heard him exhale and the sound of his blaster rifle bumping against his back as he moved was the only sound for a few moments. Then he spoke again.

“Maybe you’re right.”

As they reached the hangar, the Inquisitor realized that Hoss’ description of Tapham’s fighter wasn’t an overstatement.

_That boy is either an expert pilot or a living miracle –_ if _he’s still alive._

The interceptor had crashed with no landing gear. It’s former white body with red stripes was streaked all over with sooty blaster marks. Both of the stabilizing tail fins were nearly gone with various electronic wreckage trailing from the openings. The cockpit windows had nasty horizontal cracks and to top it all off, the engines were emitting a thick black smoke. The dizzying smell of burnt wires and plastics reached both of them.

“I- .. I hope that boy is okay,” Dreem stuttered.

“We’ll see,” she said impatiently. “Where to?”

She’d soon learn the extent of the failure that was this boy’s survival. That is, if he was still in a state where he could articulate a proper reply.

Dreem swallowed loudly and nodded his head in the direction of the tunnel opposite the one they had just come from.

“Let’s hurry, he might need your aid.”

Dreem started running and she followed. It wasn’t long until they came to a halt again. The wounded besalisk miners numbered around thirty or forty she guessed by a rough estimate. They were scattered around on various surfaces, some sitting on rocks, some sitting on trolleys or smaller manual ore carriers. The crates with med supplies were being emptied by other miners. Some were seated and trying to tend to themselves, some were complaining loudly, and some were lying down in silence with murky bandages around their heads.

The tunnel ended a short walk further down in a large cave-in, but before they got that far, Hoss called them over to a spot by the rocky wall. She’d placed the boy against it and was trying to make him drink from a bottle, but his head was slumped forwards and he didn’t move.

_He’s barely alive,_ she realized with a feeling not all too different from relief.

“Tapham! Dreem shouted as they came close. The twi’lek Sergeant knelt beside the pilot, pulled his helmet off and tried to get him to look his way, but there was no reply. The boy’s eyes were closed and the helmet splattered with blood.

“Is he going to live?” Dreem asked Hoss.

“Don’t ask me, I’m not a medic.” she said, clearly in distress.

Before Dreem managed to say more, the Inquisitor was over the boy pilot. He was going to call on her anyway, so she might as well beat him to it.

“Doesn’t look good,” she said and then upon closer inspection: “Not good at all.”

The human pilot had looked young and eager when she last saw him on the corvette, but he didn’t look as fresh now. His breathing was irregular and his black hair was thick with blood.  The orange flight suit was torn in some places where fragments had penetrated the cloth and lodged itself in his body. She could tell he would need some professional attention soon, otherwise he’d die.

_I could speed things up a bit._

Dreem groaned helplessly.

“Is there nothing you can do?” he asked the Inquisitor.

There were plenty of things she could do. Plenty of things she _wanted_ to do, but this was a delicate situation. Did he know about her? Did anyone in the rebel cell realize who she was?

_Or perhaps they recognized Barriss Offee?_

That wasn’t likely. The public life of that despicable jedi had been mostly confined to the military and that one court proceeding, so her publicity was nigh nonexistent. But whether they had a real suspicion about _her_ or that they simply suspected that someone from within had betrayed them really didn’t matter. She couldn’t let this boy live.

“He will die soon, no matter what I do,” she said with a clinically neutral voice.

Hoss stood up and put her hands to her head.

Dreem cursed in his rough native tongue, but didn’t turn away from the wounded boy.

She placed a hand on the boy’s chest and the other on his head, already feeling the dark side push her impatiently. It craved another sacrifice and she wanted nothing more than to oblige.

“He has sustained a lot of fragmentation wounds,” she explained. “He’s bleeding internally and I can feel - .. I can feel him slipping away.”

She made sure her voice carried grief, but whether it was convincing or not was beyond her concerns. One of them sighed behind her, but she was too far gone to react to it. She didn’t spend time thinking about how she’d kill the boy, the force simply followed her line of thought.

The boy started choking as his chest was unable to rise and fall any longer. She reached out in the force and touched his mind. He woke up instantly, but he couldn’t move his eyelids to see. She felt the confusion in his head as he fought to understand why his lungs refused to inhale air. Why did darkness seep in all around him?

His bewilderment grew worse when he realized the thoughts that echoed in his mind weren’t his own.

_Shh.. It will all be over soon._

He tried to twitch. He tried to roll aside, to move his limbs, to scream – _anything,_ but nothing worked

His limbs no longer answered to him.

_Why do you struggle against the inevitable?_

Crippling fear spread throughout the parts of his mind that still functioned and the overwhelming force pressing down on his chest threatened to erase even those last bits.

_The darkness is the end of your suffering._

Hoss and Dreem were blind to the murder that was occurring right before their eyes.

_Accept it._

The force cried around the two of them and something stirred in the Inquisitor’s mind. Something that protested this cruel act and wanted to set her conscience on fire, but it was weak against the sensation of the dark side. While she made use of the force, the dark side made use of her and she knew it, but she didn’t care. Things were entirely out of her control, but it felt _so good_. It was raw power coursing through her veins and if she had to surrender her soul in exchange for it, so be it.

But before she could finish it, she felt a disturbance in the force that tore away her focus like a flare in the dark.

_Fulcrum._

 

* * *

 

 

Dreem’s nerves were on edge as he watched Tapham go through a fit of coughing.

_Come on, you can’t die like this!_

He didn’t dare say anything as the jedi was working on him, but when Tapham stopped coughing and went back to ‘normal’, he couldn’t control himself.

“What happened to him!?” he nearly shouted, his voice nearly snapping.

Adder didn’t answer him at first, so he put a hand on her shoulder.

She recoiled from his touch so he let go, but pressed on. He wanted answers.

“Tell me what happened, he almost died!”

“I’m going back to command,” she said and then left him staring after her in amazement.

_What was_ that!?

He wanted to run after her, but he couldn’t leave Tapham like this. Cursing, he turned to Hoss.

“What’s going on?”

“You’re asking _me_?” she said wondrously.

_Why do I tolerate this woman._

“Yeah, I’m asking you,” he continued. “How did Tapham get here?”

“What? ‘the hell am I supposed to now?” she blurted out.

“You were the only one who knew the coordinates,” he said, his voice accusing.

“The Commander knew them too,” she countered. “The only explanation for this is that _he_ sent Tapham here.”

“Why would he do that?” Dreem asked and threw out his arms. “There’s no reason for him to be here!”

Hoss rolled her eyes and spoke with dripping sarcasm.

“Oh I don’t know, maybe the fact that his ship has been reduced to cinders by _blaster fire_ gives some indication?”

He turned around and ran a hand down his face, trying to inhale some air to calm himself, but the thick atmosphere in the cave was appalling.

Hoss continued to spell it out.

“ _Obviously_ , someone attacked him – maybe the entire cell, so it’s possible the Commander sent him after us, maybe to warn us.”

Everything Hoss had said made sense, but it gave him a headache. Why hadn’t the Commander jumped here himself if they had been attacked? Even with Captain Tikira’s squadron away on escort duty, the cell still had eight more interceptors to protect themselves, so whoever had attacked them would need a lot of firepower. That opened up the next question: Who would attack them? He couldn’t think of anyone except the Empire, but there was no way they could have gotten a hold of their location.

“Just because you’re lacking sleep and can’t put two and two together, don’t come blaming me for any of this! If you haven’t noticed, we’re both the possible next target for whoever did this to Tapham!”

“Wait Hoss, you’re right,” he said as he turned around to face her again.

“He might be dying and we – Wait what?”

“I’m tired and I can’t think straight,” he cut in. “Obviously someone attacked him, but before we conclude whether the entire cell was assaulted or not, lets send them a transmission.”

Hoss exhaled and shook her head.

“Already tried that, there’s no answer.”

“That’s not to say they’re gone. They could be in hyperspace now, moving somewhere our gear can’t reach them.”

Hoss bit her lip and considered it.

“Yeah it’s possible, but it won’t do us any good to keep guessing. The only way to know for sure is to ask Tapham, when he gets back on his feet.”

“ _If_ he gets back on his feet. You heard what Adder said.”

They both looked at the young pilot and the mood grew sour. Suddenly he felt ashamed for acting up in front of the boy and what could very well be his last living moments.

“Maybe Fulcrum is bringing medics,” Hoss said in an attempt to sound hopeful.

_I hope she is._

Shouting from the hangar caught his attention.

“Everyone!” a gruff voice called out. “Rescue is here!

The sound of engines grew louder and louder. Someone was landing in the hangar.

“We’ll have to move the wounded first,” Drikk shouted when he was sure he had everyone’s attention. “There aint enough space on the transports to carry all of us at once, so we’ll send them off first!”

The besalisk miners looked relieved and a rush of motion went through the tunnel as they all set about following Drikk’s instructions. Dreem and Hoss sent each other a glance and then took a hold of Tapham almost simultaneously, carrying him between them with his arms on their shoulders.

“You hear that Tapham? Help is here,” Dreem said to the unconscious pilot.

There was no visible reaction, but he felt like he had to at least try to encourage him, whether he heard him or not.

_You’re not dead yet. There’s still a chance._

As the red rocks gave way to the dust-covered landing deck, Dreem noticed how orderly the miners were. Besalisks were large, reptile-like creatures who had a strength that far surpassed his own. At a glance, he wouldn’t have considered them to be mannered, but seeing them work in unison to carry those too wounded to walk on their own made him mentally hit himself for being so judgmental. The ship which had landed was of a type he hadn’t seen before. It looked like a flying container with the sides folded down to allow for embarking. He saw the wounded being directed to the right side of the ship by someone he’d never seen before – presumably the pilot of the transport.

“Over there, on the right,” he said to Hoss as they changed direction.

“I can carry him on my own, try and find a medic!” Hoss told him.

_That’s probably for the best._

He was having more trouble than he’d like to admit with supporting the pilot. He felt spent and drained of energy and his headache was only growing worse, so he transferred the weight of the boy to Hoss and took off in a sprint towards the foreign pilot.

“We need a medic urgently for this man!”

The pilot noticed his distress and had an answer prepared.

“Put him on the transport with the others, we’ve got people who can see to him onboard the corvettes.”

“We’ve got several corvettes here?” Dreem asked in awe.

The pilot wore a helmet that covered most of his face, but Dreem could make out a smile as the man gave him a slap on the back.

“Yeah! You did good, we’ll take it from here.”

He nodded in a wordless gratitude and then looked around for Hoss, but he didn’t need to, she was coming his way without Tapham.

“He’s onboard, I’m going to the _Anguilli_ ,” she stated.

“Got it! There will be treatment where he’s going,” he assured the smuggler and she threw him a thumbs up over her shoulder while she ran for her ship.

The _Anguilli_ could carry at least as many as the other transport and as the square transport took off, Dreem saw miners flocking at the entry ramp to Hoss’ ship. Almost all of the wounded had been packed into the first transport so it wouldn’t take more than one more flight to get the rest of them out of there. They’d be out of the mining facility and gone from the moon within half an hour he hypothesized.

_And there’ll be a bed for me._

The thought wasn’t entirely unsatisfying, but then he realized he had nothing to do and was just standing there in the middle of a stream of people being evacuated.

He’d better find Captain Tikira. Even if there were no tasks to be done, she’d berate him if he didn’t think of reporting in his idleness at once. The thought of listening to Tikira’s shouting sent spikes of pain through his head. It would definitely not help his headache.

But before he could take another step, someone hailed him by his rank and name. Something was familiar about the voice, but he couldn’t make out just who it was.

“Th-“

He cleared his throat.

“That’s me,” he finally got out and spun around to meet another jedi.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The Inquisitor stared at the scene on the monitor with growing anxiety.

She couldn’t make out who Fulcrum was, because the camera through which she was looking only gave her an overview of the busy hangar and did not have a zoom option - but there was something eerily familiar about her force signature.

_Who are you?_

Memories surfaced and for once she let them, but it was all hazy. She remembered words, blurry images and a collection of events which when all mashed together, didn’t make any sense. But there was an underlining emotion to all of them that was as foreign to the Inquisitor as compassion. It was no use searching her emotional repertoire, however, for she had long since discarded it in favor of _control._ That was the extent of her power now, but that made her wonder.

_How powerful are_ you _?_

The force had been relatively calm, but by the arrival of the jedi it had reacted strongly. The presence of the jedi was like a bright light that stirred up the darkness around it. The Inquisitor could sense the conflict in the force, the struggle between the darkness that had previously enveloped all things on the moon and the light that now sought to budge in uninvited to restore balance.

The dark side galvanized her and she felt her anxiety mix with resentment against this unwanted change. Bitter hatred for anything that threatened the power she had worked so hard to obtain made her blood boil and her fingers itch.

She felt the jedi’s presence move from the hangar, so she switched the camera view a few times until she found her walking through the tunnel with the twi’lek Sergeant in tow. She saw her features more clearly now in the flickering white light of the tunnel lamps. Blue and white striped montrals, orange skin covered by tight cloth pieces. A part of the Inquisitor’s mind woke up screaming, but the Inquisitor was in control. She wasn’t afraid.

_She’s coming this way._

_No more stealth,_ she promised the darkness around her and abandoned the meticulous plan she had conceived. As a reward for her zealous eagerness, every breath she took felt invigorating.

_I’ll destroy her._

_You’d like that, wouldn’t you?_

She stood back from the console and closed her eyes. She pictured the woman her words were directed at in her mind. A flimsy mirialan woman who shuddered at the thought of violence. A weak young girl who couldn’t see the hypocrisy she lived in every day. The jedi knight who shouted warnings no one wanted to hear – and was shouting warnings in the Inquisitor’s mind right now.

_You couldn’t do it, but I can._

The upcoming battle and the promise of revenge made her heart beat faster and her transition ever quicker.

_Maybe I’ll let her live._

_Perhaps I’ll make her just like me._

The crystal within the lightsaber squirmed by her touch and she couldn’t resist a malicious grin. The jedi had entered the structure and the Inquisitor could tell she was moving faster. No doubt she felt the powerful presence nearby, but did she know it was her doom she was walking into?

Did she know it was the doom of an old friend too?

Small lamps by the main entrance flashed, indicating someone was attempting to open the locked door.

The Inquisitor slowly turned to face the entrance, clutching the lightsaber behind her back.

The door whined as it was forced open and fell inwards. It landed with a heavy, metallic clang and when the echoes had settled, a shocked voice from her nightmares reached her ears.

_“..Barriss?”_

 

* * *

* * *

 


	3. Chapter 3

 

 

* * *

* * *

 

 

“Guess again,” the Inquisitor cooed.

“No... “ Ahsoka breathed and took a step backwards. She looked like she’d seen a ghost.

The force was strong with the _real_ Ahsoka. She was vastly different from the apparition that tormented the Inquisitor in her nightmares and her signature was like a blinding light to the Inquisitor’s eyes. She felt no helplessness, no fear and no clammy regret – only a desire to extinguish the light.

With a three-pronged snap-hiss, a single golden saber crashed into two white and they stood face-to-face with barely an inch to spare between them. The heat from the sabers was unbearable, but Ahsoka was no pushover. While her facial expression was that of terror, there was no doubt that she wasn’t off balance.

“You’re supposed to be dead,” Ahsoka said with a voice that threatened to break, but the only reply she got was laughter.

Breaking off the attack, the Inquisitor summersaulted backwards and landed on her feet in a perfect soresu stance.

_What’s that? You think she’s pretty still?_

The togruta had grown since the the last time the Inquisitor met her. Her montrals reached further down her shoulders, her white facial markings appeared to curve at slightly different angles and the eyes that stared back at her were much more experienced. Unsurprisingly, she wore the same type of clothes as she always had. Skin-tight pieces of cloth that all had that dark-brownish tint to them littered her arms and torso. It was some sort of flexible material she understood, but in addition to that, there were several places where armored plates covered her body.

Ahsoka was eyeing up her opponent as well, but when she noticed the Inquisitor’s eyes scrutinizing her form, she took up a defensive position.

_She makes use of jar’kai,_ the Inquisitor recalled, but remembered that Ahsoka had added her own special flavor to the form.

She smirked broadly.

_Good thing you’ve sparred with her countless times, Barriss._

In a blur of motion, she swept the lightsaber in a horizontal arch which made Ahsoka duck, as the Inquisitor knew she would, which left her open to a force push that sent her clamoring face-first into a wall of broken monitors.

Crying out in pain, Ahsoka turned in time to block a golden lightsaber. The Inquisitor grabbed an orange wrist to stop the second white blade and then twisted. Ahsoka made another painful sound as she dropped the second blade, but the Inquisitor wasn’t prepared for the speed with which the togruta spun around and kicked her square in the chest.

Forced back, the Inquisitor was numb to the pain. She felt her heart pump adrenaline through her veins at a rapid pace and she could not stifle a thrilled cackle.

_She is as weak as you were, but I’ll show her the power of the dark side._

Ahsoka frantically felt her montrals, jagged shards of glass sticking out with blood staining the blue and white stripes. Fear and confusion flowed from her and it was obvious she was still trying to comprehend what was going on. Like a predator attracted to the scent of blood, the Inquisitor was drawn into the next assault.

Ahsoka almost didn’t get her single white saber up in time to parry the strike, and the next she had to dodge by rolling aside - but that left her on her knees and the Inquisitor brought down her blade with all of her might.

Sparks flew as gold met white. Ahsoka held up her saber with both hands, gritting her teeth as she fought to hold the Inquisitor back.

Seeing Ahsoka buckle under her strength fueled her confidence and she brought down her blade again and again. It produced a tickling feeling in the Inquisitor’s stomach and she couldn’t stop laughing.

_How can you fight this? Do you not feel it as clearly as I do?_

The sensation of overwhelming power that the dark side gave her left her out of breath. Even though her muscles screamed for a pause she kept bringing the golden saber down on the white, every sparkling blow lighting up the world.

_She will give in – and so will you._

Coherent thought ceased in her mind. Her will was not her own, but that of a greater power that had no regards for the physical strain the vicious assault took on her own body. She had no idea how long she pummeled the jedi, but eventually the blows became sloppy and started to miss their target. The spell slowly ended as she had to heave for air lest she pass out. Too exhausted to complete another strike, she stood back to observe her work.

Ahsoka had been pressed hard with her back against the wall. She barely stood, clutching the lightsaber in her hands and attempting to steady herself for the inevitable next attack.

_I can do whatever I want with her._

The thought was exhilarating. Sweat stung her eyes and she had not fully regained control of her breathing, but she still advanced on the shivering togruta.

_And you’re going to watch._

Reaching out with the force, the Inquisitor easily pulled the lightsaber from Ahsoka’s hands. Without a weapon to defend herself, Ahsoka could only edge further backwards until a force-push smacked her into the wall.

The togruta slumped down and didn’t rise again. Her blood-stained chest guard rose and fell at an alarming rate and she didn’t seem to be fully aware.

The Inquisitor pointed the golden saber at Ahsoka’s forehead.

_Where should I start?_

Her gaze fell upon large, sharp teeth that were stringed together to form a headdress.

_Akul teeth,_ she recalled. 

The akul was a vicious predator on Shili and she remembered how proud Ahsoka was of it. Even though Barriss had thought it a barbaric practice, she understood it well. Togruta were a species of predator, which was evident every time Ahsoka flashed her fangs in a grin. Their tribal traditions were vastly different from the mirialan heritage Barriss hailed from, but the headdress meant for Ahsoka what tattoos meant for Barriss. It was a trial of life and it was something that was worthless to others, but was invaluable to the wearer.

It took only a second for the lightsaber to sever the headdress and send it sliding down both sides of Ahsoka’s montrals.

“If you’re going to kill me,” Ahsoka said between breaths, “ _get it over with!”_

The Inquisitor looked into the eyes that were glaring up at her. They were fire behind ice blue crystal and there was something about it that made the Inquisitor pause.

_You’re right, she_ is _pretty._

She deactivated the lightsaber.

“I’m not going to kill you, Ahsoka.”

_At least not yet._

The white markings above Ahsoka’s eyes creased.

“I won’t ta-“

The Inquisitor’s gloved fingers silenced Ahsoka.

“What’s the matter?” she crooned. “You always enjoyed this.”

Barriss had always found that there was something exotic about Ahsoka’s montrals. Her species were genetically optimized for physical endurance and their headtails were an important part of their sensory equipment. As a result of that, they were very sensitive and Ahsoka did not let _anyone_ touch them out of fear of having them damaged – with the exception of her best friend of course.

“You’re _not_ Barriss!” Ahsoka repudiated and attempted to push the Inquisitor away with a wobbly arm.

For the Inquisitor, it was a weak blow against her abdomen that she ignored.

“You’re right,” she affirmed. “I’m much more than she could ever become.”

The fact that the black leather started to become soggy with blood didn’t bother the Inquisitor. The softness of the skin had sent chills down the spine of Barriss Offee and now, she was delighted to find that her appetite for destruction and suffering was appeased by the affectionate gesture.

“ _You’re_ right,” Ahsoka snarled, still finding it in her to resist. “The Barriss I knew might have been misguided like you, but she was never _weak_.”

“ _Weak_?” the Inquisitor exclaimed ponderously. “I’m more powerful than she ever was.”

“It takes strength to resist the dark side,” Ahsoka said with a wry smirk. “Only the weak fall to its temptations.”

Her finger struck one of the shards and Ahsoka let out a shrill cry of agony.

“Shh-Shh shh…” she hushed the togruta and crouched so that their eyes were level.

“You don’t know the dark side yet – but you will.”

Compassion did nothing for the Inquisitor, but she still spent a moment gently rubbing the back of Ahsoka’s head as the togruta slowly composed herself.

Ahsoka tried to shake her head, but the vigorous movement stopped when the shards collided with the wall and sent new spikes of pain through her sensory organs. The Inquisitor watched patiently, wanting to hear Ahsoka’s unbroken spirit talking again.

“You know that’s not going to happen,” she finally said. “I will never help you – or the _Empire_.”

The laughter came easy to the Inquisitor – just as it had when Barriss had been the one to experience Ahsoka’s brusque nature.

“You should be glad that I was the one who found you,” she followed up calmly. “Anyone else would have questioned and killed you.”

“Oh I’m _so_ relieved,” Ahsoka said in blatant irony. “My _best friend_ gets to betray me one last time _._ ”

“This won’t be betrayal,” the Inquisitor corrected. “This will be making things right.”

The confused look Ahsoka sent her was enough incentive to carry on.

“I’ve had visions, Ahsoka. The force has been trying to tell me things.”

“Are you sure it wasn’t just your conscience trying to make you sane again?”

Ahsoka’s snide remark made the Inquisitor laugh stiffly and shake her head.

“The force brought you to me for a reason,” the Inquisitor theorized.

Ahsoka’s smile disappeared from her lips, but she didn’t look like she disagreed. It made the Inquisitor wonder whether she had had similar visions.

“When did the dark side twist you?” Ahsoka asked suddenly. “Before or after you stabbed me in the back?”

It was difficult to specify. Barriss, unlike other jedi, had not feared the dark side. She had thought of the light side and the dark side as meaningless self-invented concepts. In that way, she had never truly understood the jedi’s reasoning for banning it, but she hadn’t received the clarity to make use of it before she realized the jedi were the ones responsible for the war. Reinforced with the power of the dark side, she had nearly beaten the Chosen One in a lightsaber duel and she remembered well the blend of emotions that had steered her at the time.

Sucking in a deep breath, she let those emotions infuse her.

“It all started with _you_ ,” she said, taking care to pronounce every word clearly.

Even though Ahsoka must have known she was going to be fed lies, she still went rigid. Catching on, the Inquisitor’s voice was sweet like honey.

“Loyal, perfect Barriss,” she proceeded. “She never acted out of line, she was a model jedi and nobody would ever have suspected her of treason.”

Talking of her former self, she pictured the brainwashed mirialan jedi in her mind. A young and promising puppet of the jedi, she had always been soft-spoken and disciplined – just like her master, but that was on the outside.

“Nobody knew how she struggled with her emotions.”

She lifted Ahsoka’s chin with two fingers and forced her old friend to meet her gaze.

“Nobody, except _you_ of course.”

Ahsoka closed her eyes and pulled a remorseful expression. The Inquisitor felt the guilt radiating off of her.

“I can sense it, Ahsoka. You’re wondering now as you wondered back then… _Why? How?_ How come you didn’t see it?”

Slipping inside Ahsoka’s mind was like taking a dive in a lake. The shock of cold struck her in her bones and it made her want to breathe in. A memory was unfolding in Ahsoka’s mind and she saw it through the eyes of her friend. She saw her former self sitting cross-legged with tears running down tattooed cheeks, but the sound of her sobbing was dulled as if underwater.

_You recognize this, don’t you?_

The memory was crystal clear. It had been a rainy evening on Coruscant and Ahsoka had been scheduled to leave with her Master for Cato Neimoidia the next day. It had been their last meeting before Barriss had been irreversibly involved in the bombing of the temple and at the time, Barriss had been at the height of her scheming, but also of her regret. She had wanted nothing more than to open her heart and tell Ahsoka everything. How she felt, how she had grown disillusioned with the jedi order and what she had planned to do... But the more she thought about it, the more she realized how horrible it was.

Breathless with fear of Ahsoka’s reaction she had started crying without a single word spoken.

“I couldn’t have known,” Ahsoka said defensively as she opened her eyes again. “I knew you needed help, but - ... I wanted to comfort you, but if I had done that...”

“…what more would you have done?” the Inquisitor finished.

She felt Ahsoka’s heart twist and as the ice blue eyes met hers again she could taste the conflict.

“The teachings of the jedi kept you a slave,” the Inquisitor went on. “You were so afraid of the dark side that you turned away from your only true friend when she needed you the most.”

“Don’t talk like it was my fault!” Ahsoka threw back quickly. “The jedi order might have been flawed, but there was no justification for your actions!”

“Do you think they would have listened to me if I had simply raised my voice?” the Inquisitor said with the wisdom of hindsight. “They would have imprisoned me and stamped me a criminal.”

There was a pause as Ahsoka seemed to be processing the words, but when a smile started to tug at her lips, the Inquisitor tilted her head curiously.

“Don’t you mean if _Barriss_ had raised her voice?”

_You slippery eel._

Within two seconds she had grabbed Ahsoka’s chest guard and pulled her to her feet.

“The _only_ reason you’re still alive,” she wheezed, “is because I have a very special plan in mind for you.”

Ahsoka stared back suspiciously. She was taller, but the Inquisitor’s strong grip kept them level.

“You’re headed for a cell for questioning,” she started. “And I know you’re thinking you won’t talk, but you will. The torture will break you eventually and you’ll betray every rebel, every sympathizer and every friend you thought you had.”

Ahsoka didn’t look as snide now, but the Inquisitor was far from done. She was getting to the best part.

“Then... When you’ve become a traitor like your best friend _Barriss,_ you’ll be left alone in the darkness to think about what you’ve done.”

The corners of her mouth curled upwards as Ahsoka’s breathing accelerated. Her eyes were filled with the horror of the mental images the Inquisitor forced her to experience.

“You’ll see the faces of those you betrayed in your sleep. You’ll wake up every day wondering if your actions made any difference. Your remorse will gnaw at your soul until you cannot live with yourself any longer. In the end, you’ll become so desperate that you’ll take to screaming at the walls for someone to execute you until your voice is gone.”

She paused and let go of the rigid chest guard. Instead, she placed her hands to the trembling togruta’s orange cheeks in a fraudulent offer of benevolence.

“That’s when I’ll be there to comfort you,” she whispered, every word expressed softly. “You’ll be begging me to end it all for you and don’t worry, I will. Ahsoka Tano will be gone, but you will become more powerful than you can imagine. Your mind will be set free from the shackles of the jedi order and you will be _mine._ Forever.”

Ahsoka looked like she wanted to speak, but whatever it was she wanted to say didn’t get past her lips. It didn’t matter, the Inquisitor knew the question that was at the tip of Ahsoka’s tongue.

“Yes… That’s what happened,” she continued and gently guided Ahsoka’s face closer.

“Barriss…“ Ahsoka exhaled crisply, letting herself be pulled ever further towards her demise.

“This was always meant to be, Ahsoka… Just give in. Skip the pain and suffering and _join me_.”

Even though it had all been an elaborate act, she still yearned to discover what Ahsoka’s lips felt like.

_They always seemed so soft. When she smiled, when she gave orders – even when she cried. At times, you couldn’t take your eyes off them and she had to repeat herself._

Ahsoka’s breath was fresh and minty, and as the Inquisitor closed her eyes to fully savor the moment of triumph, she let herself slip into the moment.

_She’s mine._

“ _No!”_

Sliding into a broken chair, the Inquisitor fell backwards and slammed the back of her head into a hard edge. Black spots dotted her vision and the air was knocked out of her lungs. It took a moment before she realized what had just happened, but by then it was too late.

_“Wait!”_ the Inquisitor tried, but she couldn’t reach out in the force in time to stop the object that came flying.

The world spun. Her hair was sticky and she had a metallic taste in her mouth. Dizzy, she attempted to look up and prepare for the next blow, but all she saw was the sole of a boot coming down on her head.

“I’m sorry,” was the last thing she heard.

* * *

 

 

_I wonder if they’re alright?_

He peered into the tunnel, pondering whether he should have stayed with Fulcrum or not. She had told him to get the others ready to leave immediately and when he asked her why, she had told him she had a bad feeling about this.

_Well glad I’m not the only one._

“Move along… move along!” Hoss told the prisoners as they walked in two lines, five in the first and four in the second. She had a smug grin and waved her arm sideways in a wave-like pattern, but he didn’t understand what was funny about it.

They were being loaded into the square transport which had returned empty. Two A-wings were getting ready to leave with it and things looked to be going smoothly. Even Captain Tikira appeared satisfied with the situation, standing before the boarding ramp to the _Anguilli_ with her hands on her hips, watching Lieutenant Fulsae fiddle with a data pad.

“Well, Lieutenant?” Tikira said expectantly.

Fulsae exhaled a sigh and subtly shook her head.

“Hard to say Captain... I need access to the holo net or a transmission database in order to run a proper check.”

He walked over.

“We’ll do a thorough search once we get on the command ship,” Captain Tikira replied and then looked at him.

“Where’s the jedi?” she asked him.

He knew she wasn’t going to like this.

“Fulcrum said we should prepare to leave immediately - I’m guessing she’s with Adder.”

Sure enough, her auburn red eyes narrowed at him, but he was too spent to be annoyed by it.

“We are already prepared,” the Captain informed him starkly. “As soon as the transport is away, the only remaining forces to evacuate are Lieutenant Fulsae’s squad and the jedi.”

Captain Tikira turned to Lieutenant Fulsae again, who was still nose-deep in the data pad.

“Speaking of - Have you had any luck contacting them?”

The Lieutenant shook her head again, not looking up.

“It’s no good. The signal amplifiers must have lost power. We’re going to have to wait until they return.”

Dreem rubbed an itch out of his eye. He really, _really_ wanted a bed.

“Transport’s good to go, Captain!” Hoss called.

“Are the two A-wings ready?” the Captain called back.

Six engines fired up and the only reply Hoss could get across was a thumbs-up.

The noise cut through his skull like needles and he had to stick two fingers in his ears. The vibrations echoing through his lekku were making it even worse, but it got better as the three ships ascended the shaft.

_A bit more work and there’ll be sleep._

The small hard bed in his cabin seemed increasingly comfortable as time went by, but for now he had to do with sitting down on an empty crate that had been left next to the boarding ramp of the _Anguilli._

Hoss gave him a pat on the shoulder as she passed him by on her way into the ship. He raised an eyebrow.

_What’s she so happy about?_

Captain Tikira paced the width of the ramp on the hangar deck, her hands locked at the lower of her back.

_Guess there’s nothing to do but wait._

He didn’t mind and for some reason it was calming to watch the Captain walk tirelessly back and forth. His thoughts went back to the jedi he had just met. Fulcrum wasn’t as old as he had expected, but she had that aura of knowledge about her as every jedi did. Where Adder was soft-spoken and collected, this one seemed to act faster and for some reason, he didn’t think every action was considered, which seemed strange to him. Fulcrum was an intelligence operative – or something of the sort. She wasn’t supposed to get in the thick of it, but the way she had rushed off with a worried look in her eyes and that last parting line made him speculate.

_Are we in trouble?_

He pictured Tapham’s young face and then ran a hand down his face as he exhaled. They weren’t friends, but he was just a kid. It affected him whenever one of their numbers took a hit, but this was way worse. He watched the human go through the deathly fit of coughing again in his mind and felt his headache take a turn for the worse. Fortunately, it wasn’t Tapham’s time yet, but he hated being so helpless. It had been near excruciating to watch Adder work on Tapham and see things worsen, but he knew she had done what she could. In spite of her awkward departure, he had to thank her once she returned.

His lekku twitched and he stared at Captain Tikira’s feet. They weren’t moving anymore.

“They’re here,” he heard her say.

Glancing at the six people trudging towards them, he was relieved.

“What happened?” Captain Tikira exclaimed and that made Lieutenant Fulsae look up from her data pad.

He saw Fulcrum carrying someone on her back.

“Sorry ma’am,” a trooper said between breaths. “There’s been... Complications.”

“What complications? Explain!” Lieutenant Fulsae demanded hurriedly, finally putting away the data pad.

“I can explain,” Fulcrum said and he almost toppled the crate as he stood, blood rushing to his head. The togruta’s headtails were completely littered with bleeding cuts. Her orange face was reddened by blood and the armor plates strapped to her form were singed with black slices of soot.

“Calm down,” she said and smiled reassuringly, though it didn’t have the desired effect on him. “She’s fine, but we need to get to my ship.”

“She?” Captain Tikira said, but he beat her to the conclusion.

“ _Adder?”_ he asked worriedly. “What happened to her?”

He hadn’t noticed it was _her_ she was carrying, but when Fulcrum carefully placed the mirialan jedi on the hangar deck, he saw that she was in as bad a state as the togruta. Her face had taken a few blunt hits that made the yellow cheeks swell and the hair cover was gone. Her dark hair was filtered with red dust and what he _hoped_ was sweat and not blood.

Fulcrum collected Adder’s hands at her fore and that’s when he noticed that Adder’s wrists were shackled by binders.

“Why is she tied up?” he asked, not able to wait for the explanation that was surely on its way.

“I will explain once we get on the ship,” Fulcrum went on as she took every item from Adder’s belt and clipped them to her own.

He didn’t understand at all. Perhaps some stormtroopers had survived and assaulted them? Maybe Adder had been taken captive by survivors or – _no, that can’t be._

_Jedi are much too powerful to be taken down by a few troopers and they’re never caught unaware._

Watching Captain Tikira and Fulcrum lift the lifeless mirialan towards the ramp of the ship, he took the blaster rifle in his hands.

“Should we be on guard?” he asked, but lowered the weapon as he saw the troopers and Lieutenant Fulsae converse between themselves in a small group without their weapons drawn.

“No,” Fulcrum called from underneath the ramp and then when she was out of sight: “C’mon, get the others onboard!”

The low buzz of engines firing up irked his lekku, but he did as he was told and motioned for the Lieutenant.

She didn’t seem to notice him so he started to walk over while the engine noise steadily increased, reminding him of his headache.

_Lets just get out of here already._

“Lieutenant?” he called, but the engines drowned out his words.

“ _Lieutenant!”_ he shouted and she finally looked over, but not at him. Something above him.

He turned around to look up, but before he realized what he was seeing, the deafening noise of engines was replaced by an ear-shattering explosion.

Then he was flying.

He registered the end of his flight once his body connected with the hangar deck head-first, but he couldn’t see a thing. Tiny particles filled his eyes and lungs. Trying to inhale, it felt like someone had placed a heavy stone on his chest. All around him was a whirlwind of red dust and everything was muted save for a high-pitched ringing in his head. He raised a hand to his forehead and when it came back bloody, panic seeped in and made his heart beat faster.

_I’ve got to get out of here,_ was his first meaningful thought and he started crawling on all fours to where the Lieutenant and her troopers had been standing. Green flashes occasionally lit up the foggy redness around him, but otherwise the only light he could see were tall flames before him.

He shouted for the Lieutenant, but he could hardly hear himself and torrents of intense heat drove him away.

_They’re dead. Go back, you have to save yourself._

Coughing, he turned around and saw drops of his own blood hit the deck. He was bleeding a lot from his forehead, but there was nothing he could do about it now. The only thing he could do was to shuffle back to the ship and pray it hadn’t been damaged in the explosion, but he still couldn’t see much before him. Had he extended his hand it would have been out of sight.

_Opposite the flames._

_I walked straight ahead from the ship._

He couldn’t see the flames any longer, but he could feel the heat behind him which meant he was going in the right direction. Scratching his unarmored knee on the rough surface, he felt no pain. His limbs were numb and the adrenaline pumping through his system was probably the only thing keeping him going. Then his hand stumbled against something soft and he froze.

_A corpse?_

He almost didn’t dare investigate further, but he didn’t have to. Whatever he had touched moved and something hit him over the head.

_“Stop!_ It’s Dreem!” he whimpered and tried to protect his head with his hands, but there weren’t any more blows coming his way.

He looked up and thought he saw a vengeful spirit, but it was much worse. By the time he recognized the dangerous end of a blaster rifle, it was too late to run.

_“Rebel scum,”_ a harsh, modulated voice said.

Glancing up the sights of the blaster, he spotted black eye-slits, sharp symmetric shapes and a finger that was slowly squeezing the trigger.

_This is it,_ he thought and let his hands fall down.

_“Say goodbye,”_ the stormtrooper said and then Dreem closed his eyes.

_I failed you._

_I’m sorry._

The shot was muffled, almost like it had gone off in another room.

_Is this what death feels like?_

He didn’t feel any different, he just felt his head throbbing and heard the sound of his heart trying to pound its way through his chest.

He opened his eyes.

_I’m still alive?_

The stormtrooper landed on his back in a clatter of armor and lifeless limbs, leaving Dreem on his knees in bafflement.

_What just happened?_

Suddenly the weight of all that had befallen him over the last few days hit him like a rock and he couldn’t stay upright. He tried to soften his fall with his hands, but they didn’t respond and he crashed his chin into the deck.

He managed to moan in agony and contemplate whether he had lost a tooth or not before his eyes closed of their own volition and sleep caught up with him.

* * *

 

 

_What a great day._

Cayleen Hoss sent a few yellow blaster bolts into the fray and then dragged the stupid twi’lek some more. Her lungs burned and it felt like her arm was starting to detach, but it was either keep going or die here on some Imperial moon no one had ever heard of.

_Just brilliant, but at least we know who’s after us._

It was a weak comfort. The chances of them surviving this encounter were exceedingly slim and she didn’t even know if the rest were still alive. She had been watching through the cockpit when the transport above suddenly fell out of the skies. She hadn’t had time to warn anyone, only barely managed to hold on as the entire ship shook from the impact. Afterwards, green plasma flew everywhere from above and Imperial shuttles descended behind the wreckage. She had had a first-row seat to watch as they turned the A-wings to cinders and lit up her precious _Anguilli._

“I’ll pay you back for that _bucketheads_!” she shouted angrily and fired wildly into the broil of dust, flames and red flashes.

_“Over there!”_ a modulated voice called and in response to her assault, a volley of crimson bolts flew past her and she ducked even though it most likely didn’t do much to increase her survivability.

The cockpit had separated from the rest of the ship and fortunately, the Imperials hadn’t thought to completely destroy it so she had left it unscathed. That much couldn’t be said of the twi’lek.

She holstered _Shilka_ and used her full strength to drag Dreem by his arms, prioritizing speed in the moment. He was bleeding from his forehead and she guessed he had suffered a concussion. Most of the scattered armor he wore had been blown off and there were some nasty bruises where the cloth had been shredded on his arms. He was lucky she found him when she did and that her aim was impeccable.

_Damn near perfect,_ she corrected herself.

Their only chance to get out of this mess, however, was to make a run for the tunnels, but dragging Dreem with her made it a lot more cumbersome.

_Where the heck is the Captain? Where is the jedi?_

The Imperials had let their engines running which meant the dust kept being stirred up so she had a chance to remain unseen for a bit longer, but she had to squint to see anything. It was a good thing she knew which way to go, but what about the others? If they were still alive, they’d have better ideas than her, she was sure of that. Two jedi and a Captain – they were _supposed_ to know better than her.

Brooding on their circumstances didn’t help her now though, she had to focus on herself and Dreem which were currently the only lives she had an opportunity to save. That made her smile to think of. Cayleen Hoss, saving lives? She hadn’t imagined that. Ever.

Her heel struck pebbles and the surface was loose beneath her feet which meant she had left the hangar deck and was almost at her destination. She looked up and saw that red flashes still lit up the dust in the hangar, but no bolts flew her way so she felt relatively safe continuing on her path. A moment later, her shoulder barged into a cliff wall and she followed it deeper into the tunnel until the dust was behind her.

Only when she couldn’t hear engines or blaster fire any longer did she dare stop and have a closer look at the twi’lek.

“C’mon, big boy. Don’t tell me _you_ ’re the one who’s going to let someone down!”

She gave him a slap across his sea-green cheek and his head lolled to the side, an unintelligible mumble escaping his lips.

Cursing, she reached for her utility belt and pulled her wrist coms from it. She didn’t wear it when she was flying because its irregular shape bothered her wrist, so most of the time, it had its home on her belt.

“Captain Tikira?” she spoke into it and hoped.

The reply was pure static.

“Fulcrum? Anyone?” she tried again with the same result.

Not overly surprised, she clasped the coms to her wrist and sat down beside Dreem. They were sat against the red rocks and she could see empty med crates lying scattered around in the flickering white light.

_Why did I choose the tunnel with a dead end?_

She blew out an exhale, pushing away blonde hair from her vision.

“Just the two of us now,” she said spiritlessly.

It was quiet, but she had no idea whether they were safe or not. The Empire was on the moon and there had to be more of them than the troop carriers she had seen. They couldn’t have flown all the way out here by themselves, so there was a reasonable chance that there was a ship the size of a cruiser or larger with them.

She shifted a bit, making herself more comfortable against the rocks. They were seated behind a medium sized outcropping, which meant they wouldn’t be spotted immediately if the Empire decided to search the tunnel, but they weren’t after them.

_They want the jedi._

Grimacing, she recalled Dreem’s appraisal of their abilities.

_Powerful beyond our understanding, making use of the ‘force’!_

It was almost too hard to resist raising her hands and making mystical gestures as she imagined Dreem’s face talking about the force. His eyes had gotten all wide with awe and while it was cute, it didn’t mean what he talked about wasn’t nonsense.

_Move objects with the force? Yeah right._

If the jedi were so powerful, how come they were in this situation in the first place? All they had done for her so far was to make life difficult and she had known from the beginning that it was a bad idea to get them on their team. While Dreem seemed to revere Adder, she couldn’t shake the feeling that the jedi wasn’t telling them everything. There had to be a reason why the Empire wanted them so badly.

But if the Empire only wanted the jedi, there might still be a chance for the others to survive. They would kill anyone they captured, sure, but they wouldn’t conduct a meticulous search of the moon.

Unless they didn’t find the jedi in the hangar.

Dreem’s head rolled over on her shoulder and she pushed him back annoyedly.

_I should have stuck with spices._

It was too late to regret her life choices and there was still something she could do before she let herself slip into a gloomy state of thought. Taking off her vest, her overworked shoulder ached. She felt her way across the belt until she found the spring-blade which she used to slice the vest.

_Didn’t like it anyway._

It had cost her next to no credits and it didn’t really fit her, but it had been instrumental in completing her look. Now the fake leather fabric soaked up the blood of Dreem’s forehead. She didn’t have any water to clean his face with so she ran her sleeve over his cheeks. His face was dirty and rough and as the blood was scrubbed away he groaned in displeasure.

“Get over it,” she muttered.

He looked a bit better, but whether he would wake up in an hour or a day, she had no idea. Frustrated, she sat back down and put the blade back in its place. Drawing her blaster, she pulled her knees up to her chin and put her arms around her legs.

_Now what do I do?_

 

* * *

 

 

“Captain, rebel hammerhead bearing 0 7 5 degrees and closing!”

“Engage,” the Captain commanded and the corvette which had gotten its name from its hammer-shaped fore, received a salvo of turbolasers. Its shields lit up green and the brightness temporarily blinded him from observing the result.

“All battery leaders, you are clear to engage at own discretion,” he ordered from the front of the bridge. He stood with his hands locked at the lower of his back and had a panoramic view of the battlefield through a web of reinforced windows.

_Why haven’t they tried to escape yet?_

The hammerhead moved back into formation with the two other corvettes and as turbolasers bombarded the three rebel ships, they just sat there doing nothing.

_What are they waiting for? Something on the moon? The jedi?_

Comscan wasn’t picking up hyperdrives being activated and he knew from his officer on the ground that they had destroyed at least six A-wing fighters and two rebel transports at the main landing bay to the mining facility. There were other landing bays, but he had TIE-fighters patrolling them so that there would be no leaving the moon without him knowing of it.

_Reinforcements, maybe?_

He sincerely doubted it. Even if they had ten more CR90 corvettes, it wouldn’t make a difference against the _Exactoris._ It had to be the jedi.

_The jedi must be extremely valuable to them._

He smiled wryly.

_Superstitious fools._

If they stayed here for much longer their shields would give in and they would all be dead. There had been no real resistance on the moon and the only reason the rebel ships hadn’t left yet must have been because they were hoping their insurgents could make it out alive.

_The Inquisitor must have crippled their communications or taken them all out._

Or it could be a trick. He didn’t know what the mining facility processed. It could be some explosive material and if there was an entire moon of it, perhaps the rebels were waiting for the perfect moment to set them off.

_The explosion could wipe us out in seconds._

He shook off the notion. The Inquisitor would have informed him If that were the case.

The corvettes and their fighters started to turn around and one of his officers called out.

“They’re activating their hyperdrives, Sir!”

He couldn’t send the TIE-fighters after them before he was certain the jedi hadn’t escaped the moon, but their goal was to capture the jedi, not destroy the rebel ‘fleet’.

“All batteries continue fire at will, do not pursue. I want a situation report from the moon,” he ordered. “Have they captured the jedi?”

He had heard of lesser experienced Captains managing to fluke seemingly won encounters with rebels such as these by getting overzealous and he wasn’t about to do that.

“Sir, ground forces report that they have the jedi in custody and are on their way back,” the coms officer reported ecstatically which earned him a hard stare from the Captain.

“Contain yourself, Lieutenant,” he chided before he went on with his orders.

“Recall all ground forces, but I want our fighters to remain on station in case there are any stragglers trying to flee.”

“Yes Sir,” the reply was from several officers who went about getting his orders carried out. He stood back and observed the blue light of the hyperdrive engines flare up on the corvettes and then they were gone.

_They’ve realized defeat._

He turned on his heel and motioned for his second-in-command who stood exactly three paces behind him.

“With me, Lieutenant.”

“At once, Captain,” came the swift reply.

“Conning officer take over, keep us in orbit until further orders,” the Captain said and didn’t wait to see his command being carried out before leaving the bridge along with his second.

They entered the holo transmission room which was void of people. It was round in shape and had a large holo table in the center capable of long-range transmission. The Captain took up position before the table and his second stood at a suitable length from him, waiting for his word.

The Lieutenant looked nervous for some reason. Did he think he’d been summoned to receive a rebuke?

“Have we had any reply from Coruscant?” he asked, breaking the tension.

“Yes Captain,” the Lieutenant said and cleared his throat. “They were unaware of the Inquisitor’s actions, but urge us to co-operate in all matters.”

The Captain nodded firmly, not surprised so far.

“Furthermore, they will send a representative as soon as possible to assess the situation and debrief the Inquisitor to make certain everything has transpired according to standard procedure.”

He exhaled a drawn-out sigh. That was probably the best he could hope for in terms of speeding up the departure of this assassin, but it still wasn’t good enough.

“That is all?” the Captain asked.

“No, Captain…” he said carefully and cleared his throat again. “They also wished to inform us that if this mission proves to be successful…”

_Spit it out already._

“… They will consider transferring our unit to their command permanently – as a reward.”

“Out. Now.”

“Yes Captain,” the Lieutenant said quickly and saluted. He was out of the door in four long strides and when the door had hissed shut, the Captain took in a deep breath.

He turned around, put his hands on the table and leaned backwards to stretch his arms. Blowing out his breath he shook his head derisively.

_What a jest this is._

It was past time he got back to his actual duties and ceased being a mere asset to be moved around. There was no glory in serving a selfish assassin. The work may have been important to _someone_ higher up in the hierarchy, but this wasn’t his mission -  he or his crew wouldn’t receive any recognition. No… That assassin. That _Inquisitor_ was going to harvest all the credit of this victory and all victories to come from the hard work of him and his crew.

And there was nothing he could do about it.

The door hissed open behind him and he turned.

“Sorry to interrupt, Sir,” the technician said.

“You’re not interrupting,” he said, already calm again as he collected his hands behind his back, automatically assuming a stance more fitting of his authority.

“They’ve taken the jedi to a cell,” he informed the Captain.

“Excellent. And the Inquisitor?”

“The Inquisitor is currently being treated in the medbay. She’s unconscious.”

The lines in his forehead creased and the technician visibly grew nervous.

“How long will it be till she makes a recovery?” he asked, trying to appear calm.

“I- I don’t know, Sir. I can ask the personnel in the medbay if you like,” the technician replied.

“That won’t be necessary,” he interjected. “I’ll head there myself.”

He didn’t take the most direct route to the medbay. The path he chose through the stardestroyer was long and took a while, but was much needed. Having stood upright for so long, he welcomed the warmth of motion through his limbs and it also gave him a chance to appear visible to the rank and file throughout the ship. Most of his men knew who he was and what his priorities were, but he didn’t stand a chance to get to know every face on his ship. It was a thing that bothered him. Whether it was paranoia or some odd _mushy_ attribute of his he did not know, but he liked to think his men were content.

_And besides, a happy soldier is an efficient soldier._

As he stepped into the medbay, a medical droid came to greet him.

“Greetings Captain,” it said in the calming robotic voice it had been programmed with. “How may I assist you today, Sir?”

“What is the condition of the Inquisitor?” he asked, looking over the robot’s shoulders into the medbay. It was calm at this hour, only a few beds were occupied by crewmen with what appeared to be minor injuries.

“We are currently treating her for superficial wounds, Sir.”

The droid tilted its head awkwardly as it spoke which was probably part of its programming to make it seem more human. It had no mouth, only what appeared to be a metal covered loudspeaker.

“She was unconscious when she was admitted to us, Sir and she still is. We expect her to make a full recovery soon.”

_Good, good._

“Show me,” he said to the droid.

“This way, Sir.”

The medbay was split into a large hall which was compartmentalized to allow patients some privacy and the droid led him to the very end where the curtains had been drawn in a square section around a single bed. He took a single step into the section and then stopped.

_A non-human?_

While it was not the first time he had seen other races working for the Empire in less prestigious jobs, he hadn’t expected someone of such high status to not be human. But on the other hand, it did fuel his prejudice.

_They must really be disposable assassins of the lowest sort._

It was both heartwarming and infuriating to learn.

_And she has more authority than I have._

Biting back an order he was going to regret, he turned to the droid again.

“That’ll be all, thank you.”

Once the droid had left, he turned to observe the Inquisitor lying under the white sheets. He stood above her, his shadow covering her face.

_So young,_ he noticed. She looked like she had lived about a quarter of her life and there wasn’t a single line in her cheeks.

_So much power in the hands of someone so inexperienced._

It wasn’t hard to believe how such an Inquisitor had managed to become so headstrong and arrogant. Youth and power was a dangerous combination and he couldn’t help but wonder how her superiors kept her in line.

_Or perhaps they don’t. Perhaps they simply unleash their Inquisitors._

There was little he could gain from staring himself blind at her face. Instead, he moved to a metal table which had been set up a few steps from the bed. All of her possessions along with the jet-black Inquisitor uniform had been spread out on it. He took a thin piece of plastic and held it up in the light.

_No name? No face?_

Usually, an identification card had a holographic image of the owner’s face though it wasn’t a requirement. A name was, however, but in place of a name, it simply read ‘0 0 2’. He wrote it off as some special identification method of the Imperial Inquisitorius. It was of no consequence as long as the code imprinted on the back checked out and it must have – otherwise he would have been told about it immediately.

But the curious number stayed in his thoughts.

_If her number is 002, does that mean she holds a powerful position in their hierarchy – or is it simply a designation?_

He turned the card in his hand, studying it from different sides.

_Perhaps she needs no face because everyone knows who she is?_

If that was true, it would take the sting out of this assignment. While it was still not satisfying to be beneath an Inquisitor his superiors might take a more lenient stance towards his situation. Still, he would have to find out the meaning of the number as soon as possible.

A subtle groan caught his ear and he swung around again.

The Inquisitor was shuddering in the bed so he walked over. She was not awake yet, but she looked to be having a dream.

_A nightmare,_ he concluded. She was snapping her head from side to side as if someone was slapping her across the face.

He shook his head and turned to leave. There was nothing more for him to do there and he had to make certain all of his fighters were pulled back. They had what they came for. It was time to investigate what happened to the Imperial garrison and figure out who was responsible.

All the way back to the bridge, a thought nagged him. He had seen that Inquisitor before somewhere, but he wasn’t sure when or where.

He was confident it was going to be a simple task to find out, however, seeing as the Empire didn’t employ many togruta.

 

* * *

 

 

The door flew open and a fair-skinned woman burst inside the murky apartment. From where Barriss Offee stood, the light of the corridor outside illuminated Letta Turmond’s features perfectly. She wore a short, purple scale-leather dress which left her arms bare and ended in a gray and white skirt. The gray leggings she wore ended in knee-high boots of the same dull color and Barriss couldn’t help but think she had been through a construction site.

Letta turned on the lights and saw that she wasn’t alone.

“It didn’t work,” she said shortly with a fancy nasal accent.

“Where are your holo-signs?” Barriss asked unsurprised.

“They took them – all of them!” she said despondently. Her bracelets rattled against her bare arms as she motioned around wildly. “They didn’t even _try_ to listen to us, they just took what we had and beat everyone who refused to leave!”

Letta took off her purple cap and threw it aside into the mess that was her apartment. The place was rotting to say the least. Old food-stained plates stacked up as tall as possible, trashcans overflowing and dirty spots everywhere on the decaying walls. It was a wonder it hadn’t been torched yet just for the smell.

“I told you,” Barriss said as she sat down in Letta’s couch – the only thing that was clean. “You’re not protestors to them. You are people who want a peaceful solution to this war, but they only believe in violence.”

Letta joined Barriss on the couch, buried her head in her hands and emitted an exasperated sigh.

“It will take something more to make them listen,” Barriss spoke quietly. “Words alone won’t be enough you need to _force_ them to listen to you.”

“What do you mean?” Letta mumbled.

Yellow fingers pushed aside short-cut black hair and then followed the smattering of tattoos on the side of Letta’s head. Barriss didn’t know what they were supposed to illustrate, but they were captivating in their own right.

“I mean… Violence is the only language they understand. You will have to speak it in order to make them listen.”

Letta leaned back in the couch and threw her hands up.

“We’ve already discussed that. There’s no way to get anything inside the temple. The scanners are too good.”

Having withdrawn her hand, Barriss folded both in her lap and followed Letta with her eyes.

“The scanners can pick up almost anything and it would be impossible for us to get anyone inside who doesn’t have a clearance, yes, but…” She waited for a moment, wanting Letta’s full attention before she carried on.

“… You said Jackar works at the Temple?”

Letta shifted uncomfortably, running a hand up and down her exposed left arm.

“He’s a munitions expert, yes. Why? What are you getting at?”

Barriss could tell that Letta already knew where this was going, but her reaction didn’t bode well for what she was about to suggest. Did she have the required determination to see this through? Was she capable of doing what had to be done in order to save the Republic and the jedi?

“Have you heard of _nanodroids_?”

The eyes of the human female widened and when she fully understood what was being called for, she rose from her seat and parted her lips, about to let out a heated protest.

But she didn’t. The breath that had been inhaled in order to shout was now exhaled in a sigh.

“That… Would work,” she said with a small voice.

Barriss could feel her resignation. The very idea of sacrificing her own husband for any reason whatsoever was repulsive – and so it should be, but during the span of a second she had understood why it was the only right thing to do.

But still there was doubt and that wouldn’t do. A clear answer was necessary, otherwise her plans might fail.

“Letta, I understand what I’m asking you,” she said with as much compassion in her voice as she could muster up. “But this is the only way to trick the defense systems and if timed correctly, the explosion could wipe out an entire hangar worth of equipment.”

Letta glanced aside and took hold of her bare arm again.

“He will never agree to do it,” she said.

“He doesn’t have to know,” Barriss supplemented.

The idea was met with another impulsive rejection followed by thoughtful reconsideration. Letta was rubbing a thumb against her shoulder, continuously biting her lip as she tried to convince herself there was another way, but Barriss already knew the answer. She wasn’t surprised when Letta spoke up again.

“And you’re sure this will work? I mean- … Will they listen? Will the jedi realize what they have become?”

“You said it yourself, Letta,” Barriss said soothingly to reinstate confidence in the wavering woman. “This _will_ work.”

“I know, I know but if I do this,” Letta said, looking directly at Barriss. “I’ll have nothing left.”

She just needed a final push, but it had to be served correctly. Barriss stood from the couch and sought out Letta’s calloused hands. Dark-brown eyes watched curiously as Barriss placed Letta’s hands one over the other and then held them in her own.

“The jedi order is my family,” she said in a somber voice. “What we are about to do is gruesome, but the jedi council only understands violence. We have to make them realize what they are doing to themselves and the Republic. We have to send a message powerful enough to force them to act on it.”

She could feel Letta’s unease trickle away and a more steadfast determination rising in her. Her eyes were fixated on their hands though.

_She will do it,_ Barriss mused and felt a knot untie in her stomach. Her plan was going to work. Jackar was going to blow up a hangar filled with dispensable clone troopers and equipment, Letta was going to be captured and she’d die before she could ever say a word about Barriss’ involvement. She’d see to that.

“Come, I’ll show you how to do it,” Barriss offered.

Letta nodded a few times before finally finding the courage to lift her eyes and meet Barriss gaze.

“Okay. We ca-uargh”

Her eyes widened in fear and she started clawing ferociously at her throat.

“Letta? Letta what’s wrong?” Barriss asked worriedly, trying to steady the woman as she jerked around in her panicked state.

She was gasping for air, but invisible hands had her throat in an iron grip.

_Someone’s choking her,_ Barriss recognized, but there were no one else in the apartment. Was it poison? Was it something she couldn’t see?

Barriss could do nothing except hold the dying woman in her arms and wait for the inevitable, but she didn’t feel anxious at all. She felt… bothered - as if someone was trying to spoil her plans rather than kill one of her friends.

_This can’t be real. I’m dreaming again._

It felt like the lights in the apartment turned a dark-reddish hue.

_I can’t be here. This is not real._

Letta’s anguished sounds started to become more inhuman as her eyes rolled back and there was nothing but white.                            

Barriss stood back, starting to look around for what she knew was going to find her soon unless she woke up.

_I’m dreaming. Wake up. Wake up!_

As she became more conscious, she realized it was a mistake. Her limbs hadn’t awoken yet so she couldn’t move. She stood still like a statue in the middle of an apartment that slowly faded away until there was nothing but darkness all around her – and the dying Letta.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement.

_No -.. Not again._

She tried hard not to think of _her_. She knew this was all in her mind and that _she_ was in control of this nightmare, but why was she so helpless then?

_Barriss,_ she cursed.

The wind of motion ruffled up her hair and she felt movement behind her. She shifted her eyes from side to side, but she couldn’t see who or what it was. The darkness extended for miles before her and the only light that revealed the fact that Letta was still there, was a crimson red glow from beneath her.

The cell. It reminded her of the dim red lights that had been in the floor panels every four tiles in the cell where Barriss Offee had died. Then she heard a clacking sound from Letta, like a Geonosian soldier laughing.

_You can’t keep doing this._

The human approached and when she stood an arm’s length from Barriss, she noticed small metallic insects skittering on her fair skin.

_You won’t win, Barriss._

She tried hard to keep her cool, but the sound of claws on the durasteel floor told her _something_ was clambering its way closer. Swallowing hard, she wanted to sprint away, but she was forced to endure Letta’s cold hands touching her cheek in the same manner she had done to Letta so many times before when she had needed advice and comfort. The hairs prickled at the back of her neck as the insects crawled across her skin.

_The nanodroids,_ she realized in horror and as they started burying themselves into her yellow cheeks, she abandoned all sense of composure. Her breathing increased rapidly and she tried every muscle in her body to find some kind of response that would propel her out of this mess, but nothing helped.

She felt the miniscule droids tunnel their way under her skin like Geonosian mind worms. She felt the same frightening sense of helplessness as she did back then, only able to watch as someone else controlled her body.

_No… No not her._

_“Barriss? Have you missed me?”_

Row upon row of pointy teeth. Demonic yellow eyes. Faded montrals with black pulsating veins and blemished orange arms ending in claws reaching out for her.

She had faced it countless times before, but the blood still rushed from her face and her entire body trembled.

“I’m sorry,” she stuttered automatically, not really knowing why or what good it was going to do.

An unnaturally long tongue bled as it licked across the borders of sharp teeth.

“I’m sorry Ahsoka!”

The creature edged closer, but took its sweet time. She felt cool sweat running down her back and the more she stared into the creature’s eyes the faster her breathing became so she looked away.

_“Are you afraid of me, Barriss? Don’t you like me anymore?”_

She couldn’t hide her fear from the monster and when another rush of motion came, she closed her eyes and emptied her lungs in a bloodcurdling scream.

And then the pain came.

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing has been slow as of late due to myself being bogged down in work. Anyways, that's enough excuses. Here's chapter four.

 

 

* * *

* * *

 

 

 

Everything about the man teemed with loathing. His blue eyes beamed harm and he would have fought back if he could, the Inquisitor mused. Instead, the Captain was forced to stand there with a lightsaber through his guts as he died, though he did die with dignity. He tried to grasp the lightsaber in some vain attempt to free himself and he refused to break his deathly glare as if he was making a point to his men, who had long since ceased paying attention to their duties. They had instead followed the heated exchanged with horror yet none had lifted a finger to come to his aid. The silence was deafening, only the increasingly distorted breaths of the Captain could be heard on the bridge.

_It’s not enough,_ she thought cruelly and slowly brought the lightsaber sideways just a tiny bit at the time, which was enough to surpass the man’s pain threshold. He emitted a strangled sound and she knew he was choking on his own blood. That in itself would have been enough to lift her spirits and perhaps lure her into a smile, but she had no time to draw it out.

_His suffering can never be great enough._

In her exasperated state, it was a challenge to repress the dark side. It was tempting to let it run through her veins again and invigorate her, but she could not afford a loss of control here, she might end up killing every last officer on the ship. She looked across the terrified faces of the crew in their pits or standing by their consoles. She had to make sure they all understood the price of treason and she had to do so fast. She needed them if she was going to stand a chance at recovering from this disastrous loss.

She did not deign to look at the Captain when she cut through the rest of his midsection, severing him in half. Instead she addressed the crew and officers of the bridge, most of whom stared at the dismembered corpse in fear.

“I want every man and woman who had _any_ contact with the jedi to be questioned,” she commanded with a calmness she did not feel and watched as all eyes turned to her. “All surveillance camera recordings of the past twenty-four hours are to be analyzed and every possible jump vector along the jedi’s last known trajectory is to be calculated.”

“Yes, Inquisitor,” came the only reply from her side. She looked to find a youthful man whose rank insignia told her he was a Lieutenant. He visibly shivered, but at least he had the presence to act. “It will be done.”

She did not know who he was, but neither did she care.

“Good, I expect a report within an hour, is that understood?” she told him directly.

“Yes, Inquisitor,” he replied again without daring to look her in the eye.

“He spoke of a prisoner as well,” she continued. “I want them taken to the Captain’s quarters.”

“Yes, Inquisitor,” he said.

She gave him a nod and he turned to set the confounded crew to work while she turned to head for the Captain’s quarters. She gestured for her colleague who stood beside her to follow.

“It’s difficult to believe he would have risked his life for a jedi of all beings,” her companion said as she fell into step beside the Inquisitor. Her voice was augmented as it passed through the helmet but the skepticism in it was still pronounced. “I would attribute this failure to incompetence rather than treason.”

“Are you saying I shouldn’t have killed him?” the Inquisitor said, cutting straight to the point. Had it been any other Inquisitor, she might have taken the wording as a challenge, but this one was different. She was congenial company.

The reply was a chortle followed by a headshake. “No, of course he deserved it, but I am simply saying… It may have been the result of mind tricks.”

The Inquisitor felt the clutch in her chest tighten. That was not how jedi mind tricks worked, one could not simply trick an entire star destroyer yet that was what had happened. The Captain had claimed that he had done what was asked of him. He had defiantly told her that because the Inquisitorius was not officially a part of the Imperial Army or Fleet, why should he have used a military scanner for her identification card? He had only run through the code and been satisfied with a match.

“Perhaps you’re right but it matters little,” the Inquisitor told her as they entered a turbolift. “The jedi is gone and only keen thinking will put us back on the trail.”

They stood alone inside the lift next to each other as it started to ascend. The walls were polished to a mirror-like finish and the Inquisitor was reminded that she still wore Barriss’ clothes. It irritated her and she fought back an urge to rip the attire to shreds, however, she noticed something else. Her hair was not covered. Intrigued by this abnormal slight, she pondered it for a moment. Barriss had always kept it covered out of tradition, but the Inquisitor had done so out of habit.

_One more thing to take from you,_ she told the abyss.

“I’m glad you’re optimistic about the situation,” her companion said and then raised a hand to disengage the visor. Lime-green eyes, yellow skin the same color as the Inquisitor and an equal lack of tattoos. She was sleek and tall for a mirialan with the same physique as was expected of an Inquisitor. She wore a double-bladed circular lightsaber and the standard uniform, though the helmet was of a different design. Its pointy tip looked sharp enough to pierce and she had a much-desired look that was incredibly intimidating to ordinary citizens. The force told a different story, however. She was not the wild, impulsive shadow that seemed to be generic amongst Imperial Inquisitors. The Empire had shown them how to use the dark side and encouraged them to study the jedi archives, but that was the extent of their training. She suspected it was a means of control to keep the Inquisitors from growing too strong, but it meant that most lacked even rudimentary training in how to focus and control their power and as a result, they were often no more than beasts let loose.

_Her name is Yena,_ she recalled – or at least her former name was. She had received a number like everyone else but hers was so obscurely high that it would have been an insult to mention it.

“Do you honestly believe we stand a chance?” Yena continued. “Even if the prisoner talks and the holo-surveillance tapes show us exactly what she did, we will never know where she went.”

It was true, their chances were slim. Ahsoka had been smart enough to steal the Advanced TIE-fighter which had a hyperdrive – or perhaps the Captain had let her take it. TIE-fighters did not usually have a hyperdrive so she could not have known of its existence unless someone had told her.

She sucked in a cold, refreshing breath and forced herself to think. If unconsciousness counted as sleep then she had been asleep for far too long but it did nothing to make her feel more rested.

“The Advanced TIE-fighter isn’t the fastest in the galaxy,” she started, “and to get to the nearest hyperspace lane she will have to astrogate from time to time at sublight speeds.”

“Even still, she has your codes. She could use Imperial hyperspace buoys or the hyperwave beacons, couldn’t she?”

The Inquisitor crossed her clenched hands behind her back, trying to keep breathing easily.

“I’ve had the codes nullified already,” she said, “but yes… She could have made it to the Inner Rim by now.” Ahsoka would have had to revert to real space every once in a while, to let the navicomputer calculate the next vector, which meant there was a chance to capture her. It was an incredibly slim chance - nigh impossible if the trackers had been removed from the TIE-fighter and it was difficult to believe that Ahsoka would not have thought of that. The only real option they had was to back trace where she had gone and then make an educated guess from there.

“Had I arrived here a few hours earlier, she would have been stopped,” Yena said with a hefty sigh. She radiated disappointment in the force and the Inquisitor couldn’t blame her. Ahsoka had been beyond lucky. As she sat in a holding cell, she had felt Ahsoka skulking around the ship like a fox. Her mind had been in a frenzy trying to figure out how to save the situation before it ended in defeat but there was nothing she could have done. She had been completely powerless just like in her nightmares while Ahsoka tore up the fabric of her world.

“It’s just a series of unfortunate events which led to this,” Yena muttered. “As I recall, jedi often find their way through seemingly insurmountable odds.”

“No,” the Inquisitor replied simply. “The force was with her,” she said as if that was a good enough explanation. It was, however, the only one that made any sense.

They did not have to ascend for long before they reached their stop. The Captain’s quarters were only a short walk from the lift.

“What do you mean by that?” her companion asked, trying to understand. “Was the force not with you? Was that why you were beaten?”

“No,” the Inquisitor replied as they entered the Captain’s quarters. They were large and split into four separate rooms. A refreshing room, a holo transmission room, a bedroom and the entryway they stood in now. The furniture and the architecture bore the distinct simplicity of Imperial produce. Barren steel, sharp angles and nothing in the way of personal affects. It had a calming effect on her and she looked to the uniformed Inquisitor with a neutral face.

“I had her right where I wanted her,” she said shortly, “but aided by the force, she managed to overcome me at a critical moment.”

It was the truth, but it wasn’t Ahsoka she was referring to. The traitor within her had been the one to sabotage the situation. She wanted nothing more than to strangle the culprit but there was nothing physical to take hold of. She had already deleted all traces of Barriss that she could without killing herself. There was only one thing left to take from Barriss and she had just let that slip through her fingers.

“As you say,” came the reply after a pause. It was a very vague explanation if there ever was one but it was the only one she was willing to give for now.

“Prepare my uniform,” the Inquisitor said and headed towards the refreshing room. It was a good thing Ahsoka had left it untouched, otherwise she would have either had to work with these rags or put on the uniform of another. “I expect you’ll find it in the medbay.”

“Very well,” the other Inquisitor returned and without a single question she left the quarters to do as she was told. She thought nothing more of it before she threw off her clothes and took a hot shower. Only the Captain’s cabin had the luxury of a shower with fresh water. Everyone else had to do with a sonic shower, a much more sophisticated and effective hygiene tool, but it lacked the comfort running water against the skin could give.

The air quickly grew warm and thick with steam and she allowed herself a moment amidst all of the chaos to relax and believe that everything was going to be fine. The water hit her head with low pressure and washed down the sweat and blood of yesterday. The discolored water swirled up into a miniature maelstrom over the drain and was swallowed up along with her worries. She would find Ahsoka with the leads that she had, she was confident in that and now that she had the aid of another Inquisitor, her chances were improved. She felt better about the situation and she felt clean – in more than one way. It had been an icky feeling to have people looking at her with hope in their eyes. The uniform would allow her to ease into her natural role as an Inquisitor once more, but she could not stop herself thinking back to the twi’lek Sergeant, whose existence proved that the jedi had done their work well. The benevolent words he had tried to cheer her up with repeated themselves in her mind and her jaw clenched, resulting in pain. She glared at her scarred hands and wished they were drenched in twi’lek blood. The jedi presence was like a disease. They filled empty-headed dreamers with hope and told them they could fight the Empire, but there was no such thing. All resistance resulted in death and it was never going to end before all of them were dead.

_That means you too,_ she told the pit within her. _Once I have her, what hope will you cling to then?_

Exiting the shower, she wrapped herself in a towel and walked to the mirror. She wiped her hand across it and studied her reflection closely. She had dark-yellow bruises on her cheeks and jaw which explained the pain. She must have taken a few nasty blows, but at least she had all of her limbs and she was alive. She turned her head from side to side, taking a look of herself from several angles.

_Why didn’t you kill me?_ she asked her absent friend, but she knew the answer. Ahsoka might have left the jedi order, but she was still very much entwined with their ideology whether she would admit it or not. A weakness which had saved the Inquisitor’s life. Instead, Ahsoka, or one of her minions, had put binders on her as if they had wanted to question her.

_You knew I wasn’t going to talk. What did you hope to gain?_

The answer was obvious. A trial and an execution. It was not like Ahsoka to kill for any reason other than survival and especially not an old friend. To weak to do it herself, she trusted a court to do what she could not.

She prodded her upper lip carefully, feeling a sting. She had taken quite the beating even though she had defeated Ahsoka. Most of what had happened went by so quickly when she tried to recall it that it was hard to trace her exact errors, but there was one thing she did remember clearly. One blow that stood out from the rest.

_She rejected me,_ she realized. Her cheeks felt sizzling hot and suddenly, she could not stand looking at herself in the mirror anymore. It was almost too bitter to swallow. She had been so close - just a second more and Ahsoka would have opened a door she could never shut.

_She would have been mine,_ she thought regretfully and opened her eyes again to see her reflection changed.

“No…” she breathed, unwilling to cope with another ordeal. The diamond tattoos were back on the ridge of her nose, her bruises were all but gone and her eyes were staring back at her with what she recognized as pity in them. The Inquisitor’s vision became blurry with unexplainable tears. “Why won’t you leave me _alone_!?”

She had let her greatest chance of destroying Barriss for good escape and this was the price. She could sense the force closing in around her, prodding her with memories that she never wanted to relive. She could feel the jedi within crawling around like a Geonosian worm in her mind, sabotaging everything and trying to erase her free will. Biting her tongue, she felt the rage consume her like a blaze sweeping through a stack of kindle until she reached the point where she could no longer contain it. She slammed her fists unto the sink with such force that it broke loose from its piping and the mirror shattered into a thousand pieces. She screamed until her lungs were empty and then only barely managed not to collapse on the floor amidst the wreckage. Her heart was hammering its way through her chest and she felt disgusted with herself but at least control was back in her hands.

_The only victory is death for the both of us,_ she thought bitterly. For the past few days the mental assaults had been severe. Although she had had the nightmares for years, she had never had any trouble keeping down her former self. It was probably due to denying her true self for the past few days. Had Barriss believed she stood a chance because of her deception? Or perhaps Ahsoka had sparked new hope? Was that what the clutch in her chest meant? She could not know, but what she did know, however, was that she had to do _something_ about it soon.

She shook off the assault on her way to the bedroom, but the knot in her chest refused to untie. Her face stung and she should probably have sought out medical aid, but she had wasted enough time and besides, painkillers were out of the question. She had to keep her head clear or she would miss something in the imminent investigation.

“Should I request a repair team?” Yena asked as the Inquisitor entered. She stood by the side of the door with her hands locked at the small of her back. She looked quite the docile servant and this time, the Inquisitor could not let the oddity of it pass.

“You are here to investigate my work, not tend to my every need,” she said in recall whilst searching the young face for clues. “Or perhaps you lied to me?”

Yena bristled, her gaze downcast as if she had been stricken. The Inquisitor turned to pull on the clothes that were laid out on the bed and it wasn’t until she had the black body glove on that Yena spoke up.

“You remember me, don’t you?” she asked. It was an innocuous question but the Inquisitor could tell how much it really mattered.

“Of course I do,” she replied to such a stupid question.

 

* * *

 

 

_Years prior_

_Imperial Academy of Coruscant_

 

"Atten- _tion!_ ”

The sound of boots hammering into the flooring on cue was gratifying. If anything, timing and precision was taught well.

"Thank you, Supervisor," she told the man next to her. Any thoughts she had on the duty she was about to perform were well hidden in her indifferent expression.

The Supervisor was a stern-faced older man who she guessed had been drafted from the previous core of Republic officers. He was strongly built and judging by his practiced voice, he was the type of man who relied more on his authority than his ability to inspire in order to lead – as with most Imperial officers.

He inclined his head in turn and stood aside to allow the Inquisitor space. The Cadets of the Imperial Academy on Coruscant were lined up in the mustering hall, a great and spacious room in which she reckoned they could fit half a battalion. The place had been a Republic Academy months earlier and it still showed signs of reconstruction. The core values of the new Empire were abundantly clear in the architecture. The empty durasteel floor was a symbol of the cold hard efficiency that was expected of its citizens and the large overshadowing banners with the white Imperial cog on them were to remind everyone to whom their loyalty was given. The massive transparisteel viewports lining the walls with a view of the surface of Coruscant gave it all a majestic look that was bound to impress even the most anti-Imperial citizen.

She shifted her gaze across the rank and file. They stood in four platoons, each consisting of about thirty individuals. Barriss had been accustomed to inspecting clone troopers during the Clone Wars, but this was different. These cadets were not soldiers, they were teenagers, all wearing gray helmets and light-gray uniforms with the Imperial insignia on their chest. Could she really find what she was looking for here?

_They're all scared out of their minds,_ she saw. Fear was oozing from them in the force and it might have something to do with the list she held in her hands. They shouldn’t have been aware of her mission, but rumors spread quickly.

_Let's get this over with._

As the Inquisitor began walking, she glanced across row upon row of covered faces. The platoons were two rows deep so she had to walk quite a distance to get a look at all of them. Her list had their profiles loaded and ready. Good grades, physical prowess and combat excellence were highlighted among other things, but she relied more on the force to tell her who might be eligible.

The Supervisor fell in beside her. The most vital information popped up on the list as she moved past the Cadets, the Inquisitor barely bothering to glance at the helmeted children.

**Cadet no. 56| Name: Everret, Tristan | Age: 13 | Species: Human | M-count: Very low**

_Fear,_ she thought, as she moved on disinterested.

**Cadet no. 45| Name: Ikarel, Yuria | Age: 15 | Species: Umbaran | M-count: Low**

_No,_ the force told her.

**Cadet no. 23| Name: Rigana, Jean | Age: 14 | Species: Human | M-count: N/A**

_Hate,_ she considered, _but not force sensitive._

**Cadet no. 37| Name: Dukarr, Imerko | Age: 14 | Species: Human | M-count: N/A**

She halted, sensing something in the force. She looked up from the list on her data pad and the Cadet standing right next to her held his breath.

_A person. The other end._  

She started again at a slow pace, keeping her expression clinical. It took a minute or so to walk to the end of the last platoon and the Supervisor seemed confused by her actions but followed along nonetheless. Her feet came to a halt before the last Cadet and the Inquisitor’s azure blue eyes squinted at the information on the data pad.

**Cadet no. 115| Name: N/A | Age: N/A | Species: N/A | M-count: N/A**

_That's strange._

"Supervisor, why is there no information on this Cadet?" she asked curiously. There had been no sound but the steps of her boots on the flooring until now, even the sound of the busy traffic of Coruscant was kept out by the thick walls of the Imperial Academy.

"Do forgive me, Inquisitor, but some of the more… _recent_ cadets have not had their information entered into the system yet. If you will excuse me a moment, I can fetch the- "

"That will not be necessary, Supervisor," she cut him off. "Cadet, state your name and age."

_What is the force trying to tell me?_

The cadet straightened out and started getting the helmet off. The Inquisitor watched the force brimming around the child, a single eyebrow raised in subtle interest.

"Ujira, Yena. Fourteen, Inquisitor." The child spoke clearly and the Inquisitor finally recognized what the force was showing her.

_She knows what she’s doing._

She put away the data pad behind her back.

"Eh - .. Cadet 115 has shown great ability in most fields, but -"

She held up a hand and the Supervisor took the hint. The mirialan girl had shortly cut black hair and lime-green eyes. As they made eye contact, the Inquisitor felt the force tremble. The cadet was trying to read her which was a poor decision though the fact that she knew how to do it was laudable.

"You’ve had training,” the Inquisitor said matter-of-factly.

The girl flinched. She parted her lips to speak, but when no words came out she bit down and accepted her defeat.

The Inquisitor brandished an uncharacteristic smile which broke the neutral façade she had planned to keep up.

_Was this how Master Luminara had felt when she chose Barriss as her padawan?_

_Searching through the profiles of younglings until she found someone she thought sufficiently similar to herself?_

The Supervisor saw another opportunity to break in.

"As I was saying, Cadet 115 has shown great ability in most fields, but has been having difficulties fitting in."

"Fitting in?" the Inquisitor inquired, her gaze searching Yena's face for clues, but the girl didn't twitch a muscle.

"The cadet has shown complete disinterest in co-operating with her fellow cadets," the Supervisor elaborated. "To lead, one has to work _with_ ones’ subordinates - not _against_ them."

_Interesting._

"Put your helmet back on," the Inquisitor commanded.

The cadet did as she was told and the Inquisitor walked to the center of the formation with the Supervisor close behind.

"Have Cadet 115 sent to screening office seven," she told him. “I have what I came for.”

“Right away Inquisitor,” he replied and saluted stiffly. She gave him a nod in return and he dismissed the Cadets. She stayed to watch them drift away to their duties though only with half her attention.

_She had no tattoos_ , she realized suddenly.

Barriss had had a pattern of diamonds tattooed over her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. The back of her hands had also been also marked with the same pattern. The girl should have had some by now unless she had been deemed unworthy of them. Perhaps she had refused to conform to the jedi’s beliefs and thus been kept from advancing? At her age in the time of the Clone Wars, she should have been a padawan. She knew the bitter feeling of being denied what was hers and it seemed as if that was exactly what had happened.

Steeling herself, she turned on her heel and started towards the main entrance hallway. There were myriads of people entering and exiting at all hours of the day and many of them did not wear uniforms. They were applicants and she did not know what to feel about the apparent popularity of Imperial military service. She took a left turn down a narrow corridor which led her past many doors that all had the nametag of their owner on them and their function. Most of the names were unknown to her but she knew every function well. When she reached the office, she found the Supervisor inside with the Cadet she had requested. He looked at her, inclined his head and left them to themselves.

_A man of few words,_ she thought. With such a no-nonsense attitude, he was bound to make it far up the Imperial hierarchy. Without sparing another thought on the man, she took a glance around the room.

“Remove your helmet and stand at ease,” she said while she moved to the desk that was a necessity in such a place. There was a stack of data pads littering the desk and a small framed picture of someone’s family. On either side of the desk there were two chairs. Behind them, on the walls, there were shelves and archives which seemed to be stuffed full of holo discs or pads. All of the furniture was either made of metal or some other alloy and on second thought she decided to stand. She had her hands locked behind her back and as she eyed Yena, the girl was unable to hide her anxiety. She stood with her helmet under her arm as she had been taught to do and she looked like she was on her way into her first battle. Her eyes riveted around the room and the Inquisitor almost felt bad for the girl. Almost.

“Do you know why you’re here?” the Inquisitor asked calmly.

Yena took a deep breath before finding the courage to look the Inquisitor in the eye and then answer the question.

“You’re going to execute me,” she said as if that was the only reason she could think of, but she sounded very composed for a teenager who thought she was about to die.

“All jedi are to be destroyed,” the Inquisitor began. “But then again, you’re not a jedi – You’re an Imperial Cadet. Tell me how that came to be.”

“I fled when the temple burned,” she replied in a low voice but straight to the point. “Recruiters pressganged me. They didn’t know who I was.”

“And how do you feel about your new position?” the Inquisitor asked, detecting no dishonesty so far.

Yena’s eyes ventured to the lightsaber by the Inquisitor’s belt. Her eyes watered and she sucked in a breath through clenched teeth.

“They killed everyone I ever knew,” she replied quietly. “They forced me into this and if I tell them who I really am, they’ll kill me too.”

She looked up at the Inquisitor and added, “well, I guess that doesn’t matter now.”

The Inquisitor knew exactly what the girl was feeling. The destruction of the temple had been the death of her former life as she knew it. She had probably watched as her friends were gunned down around her, unable to do anything and unable to call for aid. She had then been thrust into a harsh world that she did not know with no preparation whatsoever and now, to top it off, she was working for the Empire that had caused her so much suffering. It was not surprising that she felt despair, but the Inquisitor knew what came after that.

“Is sorrow and self-pity all that you feel?” she asked. If what the Supervisor had said was true, then there was a good chance that Yena had a lot more potential than she knew. Yena must have taken the question as a test because she wrinkled her brows in contemplation.

_She’s smart,_ the Inquisitor thought. Even in the face of supposed death she took her time to think. And she came out clean as well.

“No,” she said after a while, wiping the tears with her sleeve. “I wish I could pay them back.”

“Is this why you’ve been working against your colleagues?” the Inquisitor carried on. “You’ve been picking fights with them, haven’t you? Winning, naturally.”

Yena nodded though she appeared uncertain what she was supposed to answer this time. It didn’t matter, the Inquisitor had made her point and now, she expanded upon it.

“It makes you feel better when you beat them, doesn’t it? When you strike out in anger, your blows are stronger and the misery of your enemies takes away the pain inside of you.”

The girl was all but clutching the helmet under her arm as she listened, the force around her in turmoil.

“I can sense the dark side within you,” the Inquisitor said as her hand was placed against the girl’s cheek which dulled her angst though the Inquisitor did not know how. “You’ve always been taught to detest its nature and refrain from using it, but I tell you now that what the jedi told you is a lie.”

The Inquisitor thought back to when Master Luminara had comforted Barriss. She had used a special voice that held such compassion many thought the stern and disciplined Master incapable of. This was the voice the Inquisitor used now and it worked like a charm.

_Thank you, Master Luminara._

“I served the jedi once myself, but I figured out the truth long before the jedi were massacred. They fed us lies as soon as we were old enough to swallow them. They told us that we were to be peacekeepers yet sent us to invade entire planets. They wanted us to uphold justice and be righteous yet they refused to do what was necessary to end the war.”

Yena’s attention was on the floor and her head tilted into the hand on her cheek. She raised her arm to wipe her eyes once in a while but otherwise remained quiet as she listened to the truth.

_If Master Luminara could see her legacy now she would weep,_ the Inquisitor contemplated and felt a pang at her heart. Angered by the guilt that belonged to Barriss and not herself, she could not prevent her voice from hardening a bit.

“They led us all to believe that what we were doing was the right thing yet they never took a look at themselves. Had they done so, they would have seen this coming but they refused to do so, consumed by violence and a lust for power they could not control. That is why the jedi order is gone – that is why everyone you knew are dead and that is why the rest of the jedi must be destroyed.”

The Cadet had given herself over to grief by that point, her small figure shaking as she could not hold back the tears.

“I don’t understand,” she pushed out between breaths. “What do you want from me?”

The Inquisitor didn’t fully understand why she did it, but she opened her arms. Yena dropped the helmet and leaped at the chance for comfort, something that the Inquisitor surmised she had not received ever in her life. She felt Yena’s arms wrapped tightly around her midsection and at that moment she didn’t feel like giving the girl the stamp of approval that was necessary to send her to Mustafar, although she knew that was the only way for her to stay alive.

“You’ll understand in time,” she whispered into the girl’s hair. “All you have to do for now is hold on to your feelings and use them to survive.”

With those words, she brought up the data pad and scrolled through the list with the flick of a finger.

**Cadet no. 115| Name: N/A | Age: N/A | Species: N/A | M-count: N/A**

Her finger hovered over the snippet of information.

_She would have been a suitable padawan._

_But Barriss is dead._

She pressed it lightly and the text flashed green for a second before disappearing from the list of cadets.

_And the jedi order along with her._

It was a strange sensation to alter someone’s life so drastically. The jedi would have said it was wrong, but that was exactly what they did themselves when they took children from their homes and trained them for battle. The never-ending hypocrisy of the jedi had always displeased her and she was beyond trying to morally justify her actions or the actions of the Empire. She was concerned only with the destruction of the jedi and if this child could help bring that about sooner, then whatever horrors she had to endure would be worth it.

Through the transparisteel window, the last light of the day had just disappeared and a dismal twilight illuminated the office. Yena was no longer shaking, but the Inquisitor kept stroking her head. She took in the beautiful cityscape of Coruscant's overworld bustling with activity and wondered whether Yena would live through the training she was about to experience.

She told herself she wasn’t worried.

 

* * *

 

 

 

_Present day_

_Imperial Mining Moon ORT45M_

 

It was difficult to focus when the very air she breathed was trying to choke her. She was certain the atmospheric regulators had given in which was no joke, it meant they only had a few hours left to live unless they found hazardous environment suits or got out of there in a jiffy.

_I’m not gonna die here in this ronto pit,_ Hoss fumed internally. She blinked rapidly, the red dust still wasn’t out of the air and as a result, she kept getting it in her eyes. It was humid, it was growing increasingly hot down in the landing shaft and her stomach was churning. She had trouble being precise with her finger movements which was bad, as the work she was doing required just that. She was almost done rewiring the last of the torn off cables and thankfully, most of the damage sustained affected only the right steering. The left was still intact, she had only needed to replace the stabilizing fin on that side. She had taken one look at the engine and hoped that the burnt insolation that she removed from it had been the cause of all that smoke because she really was no expert on A-wings. She wasn’t a mechanic.

Wiping sweat from her brow, she finished her work and stood back to observe the fighter. It still very much resembled a wreck but oh well. She couldn’t judge it before she’d tried it and so she crawled up on the fuselage and leaned into the cockpit. She carefully avoided the spots where Tapham’s blood still stained the metal which wasn’t easy.

“Come on, don’t let me down!” she prayed and then pressed the button to start the ignition sequence.

There was a heavy clank and then the sound of a metallic beast coughing, inhaling air and fuel at the same time. She heard the engines fire up with a few rickety blasts but they seemed stable enough after she had waited a minute. She felt a buzz sweep through her but she did not dare celebrate yet. Not until she had made sure the hyperdrive still worked and she tried entering some random coordinates into the navicomputer to make it run a functional test. It was a long twenty seconds as the computer hummed and the engines roared. Finally, a green button flashed and the navicomputer reported everything okay. _Then,_ she turned off the engines and raised her fists to the skies, exclaiming her victory.

“What are you doing?” Dreem asked. He always had a skeptical look about him even now when he was half covered in bandages around his head-tailed head, arms and torso.

“It works!” she grinned at him, slipping down the side of the fighter to stand beside him. “We’re getting out of here right now.”

He shook his head.

“Good work, but we’re not going anywhere,” he said dejectedly. “The stardestroyer is still up there.”

“What?” she proclaimed. “Why? There’s no one left here but us!”

“No, but they’re probably waiting for someone to repopulate the moon don’t you think?”

That was likely, but they didn’t need an entire stardestroyer for that. Besides, they got what they came for, didn’t they?

“You haven’t found Adder and the others, have you?” she asked carefully. He had been very insistent that they make sure the others weren’t holed up somewhere else on the moon and he had suggested that they look through every surveillance camera just in case. She had thought it a good idea though they didn’t have endless time so they had split up.

He sat down on an empty crate, put his elbows on his knees and rested his head against his knuckles.

“I couldn’t find them on the cameras,” he said despondently and she felt a tug at her guts. She didn’t like seeing him like this. He was the tactical genius of the two. “I did find them on the play back recordings though, but they’re not on the moon any longer. They took them.”

Her heart sank and she had to sit down on the crate as well.

“Who did they take?” she asked and put a hand on his back to rub some comfort into the twi’lek. It didn’t matter if he needed it. “All of them?”

“No, Adder and Fulcrum were dragged off,” he said, glancing up into the purple skies above the landing shaft. “They took Captain Tikira as well. They’re still up there on the stardestroyer being tortured for information, I know it.”

She felt for them. Imperial captivity was nothing like Republic captivity. There was rarely a trial and sometimes they didn’t even ask questions before the torture began. She had never been a prisoner herself, but she had heard the stories from other pilots. She had been close to reconsidering her venture with the rebels more than once on account of that. But the torture wasn’t the worst thing about it. If it didn’t outright kill them then they would be sent off to slave mines or other Imperial installations. They had to have a lot of intel on them as well – just imagine, two jedi? As far as she knew, the both of them could be entangled in several cells, all of which would be compromised now.

“Thanks for rescuing me by the way,” he said suddenly. She looked at him and knew that he was thinking the same thoughts as she was.

“We were lucky, but we have to warn everyone,” she said. “If they end up talking, a lot of people will be getting an Imperial visit soon.”

“Yes, but how?” he sighed. “We’re not getting past that stardestroyer.”

“Well what did you see exactly?” she asked, trying to establish a better picture of the situation. “I mean, was it just the stardestroyer or does it have TIE’s out there on patrol?”

“None, it’s just the stardestroyer,” he elaborated, squinting at her with his amber eyes. “But they’ll see us the moment we exit the –“

They shared a dawning glance.

 “…if we _don’t_ exit the atmosphere and stick close to the surface, then the interference to their scanners might be enough to let us slip away to the other side of the moon.”

She slapped him on the back and recapped the plan.

“Bingo. We fly under their scanners and slip away into hyperspace from the other side of the moon. Simple.”

“That would work,” he said, but she detected a trifle resistance to it in his voice.

“But?” she asked when he didn’t care to enlighten her of his worries.

“But,” he started. “Does it really matter if we escape? I mean, we can only go one place and for all we know, that might have been wiped out and replaced with a trap.”

“Maybe we don’t have anywhere to go, but if we stay here, we’ll die for sure,” she reasoned. She thought of Commander Tamas, the old man who was the leader of their cell. The way Tapham had crashed here on his own with an all shot up fighter was an eerie sign that something had gone terribly wrong there. There had been no answer from the long-range holo transmitters and if they made their way back, they could be ending up in an ambush. Their only option really was to make for a planet or an outpost where they could hide and gather info about what had happened and perhaps link up with another cell somehow.

Hoss pulled her arm back and Dreem winced. His wounds would require some professional attention she reckoned, otherwise she might end up alone in this mess.

“We can’t leave them to die,” Dreem told her as he ran his hands up and down his face. “I owe the jedi my life, I can’t just run when they need me.”

_Idiot must’ve hit his head hard,_ she thought to herself. She gesticulated towards his form and tried to convince him with a single stare. He carried on as if he wasn’t talking nonsense.

“I know I’m in a bad shape, but maybe we can-“

“No,” she overruled, gesturing with her arms as if ruling it out of the picture. “No, no, no. We’ll both die along with the others and then the Empire will win. Is that what you owe the jedi? I don’t think so.”

“Just hear me out!” he said desperately. “We can turn on the relays and when they investigate the signal transmissions, we can sneak onboard in stormtrooper armor.”

She rose from the crate, stood before him and took a hold of his shoulders so she could lock eyes with him. He flinched in pain but she had to do it.

“Listen to me Dreem,” she told him slowly and clearly so that she knew he was listening. “They’re gone. There is nothing we can do to help them – you _know_ that. We have to save ourselves and live to fight another day. Why is it even me telling you this? You’re the Sergeant, you’re supposed to keep your head cool!”

It seemed like she had broken through the fog in his mind. At least the tension went out of him and he threw his gaze to the deck below.

“You’re right Hoss,” he admitted. “We can’t save them. It’s just … Everything was going so well. We had jedi on our team, we we’re saving lives and just look at the fleet that came to pick us up!”

“Yeah,” she agreed. “I didn’t think we could do something like this either.”

When she signed up, she met only the Commander and his cell. She didn’t get to know of any others until later on which was probably for the better. She wasn’t certain she would have joined if she knew how ambitious their leaders really were. She had signed up mostly for revenge, to get back at the Empire which had executed her partners in crime and scared her business contacts out of dealing with her. Back then, she had wanted to sabotage and perhaps kill Imperials but now… She knew there were better ways to take revenge.

“Where do you think they’ve gone?” she asked him as if he knew. He’d seen the surveillance recordings after all.

“I saw them jump to lightspeed,” he responded and then lifted his shoulders in a shrug. “They probably realized it was hopeless too and ran for it. I have no idea where to, but my guess is back to their respective sectors.”

She put her hands to her hips and turned to look at the A-wing. When she had been transporting miners up there to their ships, she had seen at least three corvettes and about six or seven smaller craft. They were no challenge for a stardestroyer unless it was severely crippled and that in itself was not an easy task.

Dreem descended into a fit of coughing and she knew their time was getting shorter.

“We need to go Dreem or you’ll end up dead before we get out of here.”

He didn’t say anything – or well he couldn’t as he was still coughing, but he got up and started climbing the A-wing to get into the instructor’s seat. She assisted him and when his breathing was normal he took a look around and frowned.

“Did you fix the cockpit with _tape_?”

“Not just any tape,” she said and picked the tool from her belt to show him what she had used to fix the cracks in the cockpit glass. “I’ve used it on the _Anguilli_ several times. Works perfectly. Hyper durable.”

He shook his head in aggravation but didn’t pursue the issue any further. What was he going to do anyway? Refuse to come? She slipped into the pilot’s seat and started the ignition sequence again.

“I guess if Tapham can fly this broken thing then you can too,” he said from behind her and she let out a mirthless laughter.

“Was that a compliment? ‘Cause I’m going to take it as one.”

She flipped the switch to lock the cockpit. There was a hiss as it sealed airtight and she put down a mark mentally. One more thing on the list of things that could go wrong but actually worked. Then she activated the repulsors and as the ship lifted itself from the ground and started to make a wobbly ascent, she strapped herself in.

“You good back there?” she called over her shoulder. The engine wasn’t supposed to be so loud that they had to shout, but some of the insolation had been burnt away so the noise had an easier path through the hull. He patted her shoulder as a response and she took that as a sign that everything was A-okay.

“Hold on!” she shouted and then put forwards thrust on the sublight engines. She angled the ship so that they were facing upwards into the violet atmosphere and then jacked the throttle up. Everything was still airtight and they were making good speed. When they exited the shaft, the stardestroyer was looming right above them. It felt like they were terribly exposed and they had to fly for a few minutes at least to get out of the stardestroyer’s line of sight. She took the ship low amongst the rocky impact craters on the surface of the moon, but that meant they were in the way of geysers spewing gasses. It was a good thing she was the best pilot in the sector and she took the many outbursts from Dreem as signs that he was still alive. Still, every second that went by she felt like they were going to be discovered but in the end, nothing happened.

As they were reaching the far side of the moon she plotted in the coordinates of the only planet nearby that she knew of. A holographic image of Axxila appeared above the screen of the navicomputer and she accepted the computer’s calculations. All she had to do was to engage the hyperdrive once they were in position and they’d be out of there. Then she felt a hand tugging at her shoulder.

“Wha’? What is it?” she shouted, staying her hand for now.

“The coms!” Dreem shouted back and pointed at the instrumentation. True enough, a diode on the short-range coms was blinking insistently.  “Someone is talking on one of our frequencies!”

She changed the loudspeakers from the headset option to the entire cockpit and jammed up the volume.

_“…formation seven-six, Mentke-squadron flanking maneuver twenty-two with Kakatau-squadron until sector bravo confirmed open…”_

“Sounds like tactical battle plans!” she told him and he agreed.

“I know those squadrons,” he called from behind. “We’ve flown with them before. They’re from another sector!”

“What?” she replied and looked over her shoulder at him. “How come we can hear them then?”

He had such a dumb grin on his face that she had to smile as well though she didn’t know why until she followed his wildly pointing finger and saw what he saw.

_They didn’t go back to their sectors,_ she realized. _They never left._

 

* * *

 

 

 

“Where is she going?” Yena asked wondrously. She had both her hands planted on the holo table and her eyes followed the miniature togruta around the corridors of the massive ship. Ahsoka was taking turns and pathways that didn’t lead her directly to the dorsal landing bay where she had made her escape. There were places where the cameras couldn’t reach her and there were times where she had been smooth enough to avoid being seen, but she appeared on enough cameras that it was possible to roughly back trace her path through the stardestroyer and it was anything but the shortest.

“She doesn’t know her way around,” the Inquisitor concluded. She had one arm over her chest and the other resting on it while she rubbed her chin. “These stardestroyers are different from the _Venator_ -class destroyers the Republic used. It stands to reason that she would have problems finding her way around.”

“But there are maps everywhere on the ship,” Yena countered. “If she was able to defeat you, then she should be able to read a map.”

The Inquisitor shot a glance at the younger mirialan, who was a little too callous about bringing up the recent defeat. She knew that it wasn’t meant to spite her, it was more or less because she spoke freely and wanted to solve this mystery at once but it would not do.

“I appreciate your assistance,” she said quickly. “But remember who I am to you.”

“Excuse me, _Second Sister,_ ” she said apologetically but not without a hint of sarcasm. “But if you haven’t noticed, we’re both out here in the gutter.”

“What do you mean by that?” the Inquisitor asked interestedly which caused Yena to pause the recording and send her a curious glance. Ahsoka had just taken wrong turn number twenty and one of the cameras had snatched a close-up angle of her face. She was wearing her most determined expression which had always meant that she was unstoppable in whatever she had decided to do.

“You know this is punishment, right?” Yena asked.

“What is, you coming here?” the Inquisitor questioned back and mirrored Yena’s inexplicably puzzled expression.

“Yes. How long has it been, exactly, since you were on Coruscant?”

She couldn’t remember. It had to have been at least four or five years since she had made a report in person to the Grand Inquisitor or had a mission that didn’t require her presence far, far away from the Core.

“Why would it be punishment?” the Inquisitor asked in genuine confusion. The Outer Rim was the opportune place for someone who didn’t want to be found to hide. “I’ve been here for years.”

Yena turned her hands to show her palms briefly.

“The last report of jedi activity in the Outer Rim was investigated a long time ago,” she said, outlining what the Inquisitor thought to be Yena’s guesswork. “Some backwater planet named Raada and it was only investigated because there had been sightings. Nobody wants to head all the way out here only to find a cold trail and then be forced to commit to it or report back a failure.”

The most common method of ascension within the Iquisitorial hierarchy was the untimely death or execution of one’s superior. With that in mind, she could see the logic behind Yena’s words, but it also meant that most Inquisitors were useless non-committing leeches. It made her muscles tense to think that the jedi who were still out there had an easier time because most Inquisitors were too afraid to get their hands dirty.

“Why are you still out here?” Yena asked, ripping back the Inquisitor’s attention. “You should be on Coruscant, dispatching us on missions.”

She didn’t know the answer and she didn’t care. The more time they spent on idle chatter the more space between them and Ahsoka. She switched on the recording again and watched as Ahsoka dodged patrol after patrol expertly and slipped into her ship to pass away into the emptiness of space. Yena took the hint and put her attention on the holo image again but as they both watched the last of the recording, the door to the quarters hissed open. They both turned to see two stormtroopers dragging an orange-skinned twi’lek between them by her arms. They marched the length of the entryway, tossed their prisoner who was bound by her hands and feet to the floor, saluted and then left.

There was a trail of blood where they had dragged the woman. She was lying with her face down, still breathing but probably gathering the strength to look up and face what came next. The chair scraped against the floor as the Inquisitor pulled it to her and sat down. Yena knew what was expected of her and positioned herself in front of the twi’lek who was slowly maneuvering herself unto her knees so that she could see.

“Hello Captain,” she said with a wry smirk creasing her lips. Captain Tikira looked up by the sound of a voice she recognized and when she saw the woman she remembered as Adder, she tried to leap forwards, snarling something in her grim language which the Inquisitor guessed was an insult. She didn’t get far, however, as Yena grabbed a lekku and pulled hard. The Captain screamed half in anger and half in agony. Her auburn red eyes were on fire and the Inquisitor didn’t need the force to tell her that hatred was all this woman had left in her now. She tried to fight back by flailing her bound hands, but Yena simply took a hold of them and pushed them back into Tikira’s face with twice the force. It didn’t quell the rebel’s ferocity but it did make her swings sloppier. It wasn’t until she’d taken so many hits to her orange cheeks that they were completely battered and swollen darkly that she gave up fighting back.

Yena had been calm as a surgeon up until that point but then, she laughed. A cold-hearted, malicious chuckle that the Inquisitor knew had been derived from years of suffering and taking pleasure in the suffering of others.

“Is that really all?” Yena said mockingly, making certain Captain Tikira saw her exaggerated expression of disappointment. “I’ve killed twi’lek children who had more fight in them than you.”

When Captain Tikira drew in a ragged shot of breath, the Inquisitor started laughing too.

_This is what I need,_ she told herself with a promise of more. The dark side hang heavy and sweet around them like a drug that presented itself and it was far too tempting to deny it. She could already feel Barriss presence repressed again.

“Why are you crying?” Yena asked with fake concern in her voice. “Is it because your family is dead?”

The Inquisitor leaned closer and offered no such illusions of compassion.

“You’re a coward,” she said without diminishing her smirk. “You always have been. From the day we met I could see right through you and I saw what you were always worried people would figure out.”

The twi’lek Captain had canals of tears streaming down her face yet she didn’t make a sound. She was staring at the Inquisitor but she knew that the Captain wasn’t seeing her.

“You turned them in.”

“ _It’s a lie!”_ she howled, attempting to assault the Inquisitor again but ending up only falling forwards on her chest.

“It’s a lie…” she cried into the floor, her body shaking. “It’s not true.”

“Deceive yourself as much as you want but you can’t deceive me,” the Inquisitor went on. “I can have my Sister here torture you until there’s nothing but an empty shell left of you. I can put you through those memories you’re so afraid of over and over until you lose your sanity. I could even do a combination of the two, but I won’t have to will I? You’re too much of a coward to suffer for the rebels you claim to be loyal to. You’ll tell me everything I want to know, won’t you?”

The Captain was beyond trying to save herself some dignity. She stayed on the floor and couldn’t get a word over her lips so the Inquisitor rephrased.

“I know Fulcrum left you to die, but where would she go? Did she tell you anything?”

The pathetic, shuddering husk at her feet gave her no answer and she grew impatient.

“Where is she?” she said and jabbed at the twi’lek with her boot to no avail.

_Pain it is then,_ she decided, but before she could ignite her lightsaber to kick things up a notch, the coms device by her belt activated and she heard the nervous voice of the Lieutenant who had stepped up earlier.

_“Inquisitor, I – I think you should come here at once.”_

She grabbed the device and spoke into it with little patience for diversions.

“What is it, Lieutenant?”

_“It’s better if you come see for yourself.”_

She was about to hand him a hasty threat but then she reconsidered and put down the coms. She looked to Yena and the younger Inquisitor nodded her understanding.

_So that’s what it’s like,_ she though, smiling inwardly. She could get used to it but there was no time to linger. She clipped the lightsaber to her belt and headed out without another word. She was pleased to be accompanied by Tikira’s screams on the short walk from the Captain’s quarters to the turbolift. From there, it was a brief descent followed by another walk until she got to the bridge.

“This has better be important Lieutenant,” she sneered dangerously and the man who came to greet her took a step backwards. He cleared his throat and stood as much at ease as he could. She couldn’t see his eyes underneath his cap and she suspected he had done that intentionally.

“Inquisitor we’ve detected a number of unknown vessels approaching us at sublight speed,” he explained and follow her as she walked the length of the bridge to the transparisteel web of windows at the fore. She noticed that the technicians and specialists in the pits on either side were absorbed by their work. “Our scanners have found matches for eight of them and identified them as rebel corvettes of different types, but there are a lot of smaller vessels following them which we cannot get a proper read on. They’re flying too low.”

She narrowed her eyes, focusing on the distance. The atmosphere of the planet gave it a violet shimmer and it was difficult to see the aforementioned ships. She reached out in the force instead and found what she could not see.

“The rebels are returning,” she told him. “What are they up to? Even with a fleet of those ships they’re no match for us.”

“I don’t know, Inquisitor. They will be within range in about thirty seconds, shall we open fire then?”

“Do it,” she ordered and he started giving out orders to his officers. She watched as the corvettes became more and more visible against the captivating background. Something wasn’t right. Why would they attempt a suicidal assault like this? Did they have larger ships incoming that could make this a fair fight? It would have to be something the size of a frigate at the very least to pose a threat to the _Exactoris,_ but the chances that they had something like that at their disposal was minimal. They had to have some other ace up their sleeve and her first thoughts went to the moon. Did they have a hidden reserve of ships waiting down there to outflank them and attack? She decided it was better to be on the safe side.

“Lieutenant, launch all fighters too,” she added and he did as he was told though she knew it would take some time to deploy them all. She just hoped she hadn’t been too late.

“Rebel ships within range now Sir,” a battery leader called.

“You may fire at will Lieutenant,” was the reply and she focused on the line of corvettes and the small specks around them that must have been their fighters, expecting one of them to go up in a blaze.

Instead, nothing happened.

“Why aren’t we firing?” the Lieutenant asked quickly, still too inexperienced to hide his anxiety.

“The- … We have lost main power to the batteries, Sir!”

She felt a chill run down her spine as if there had been a gust of cold wind and her back went tense.

_Not a flanking maneuver,_ she deduced. _Sabotage._

Thinking quickly, she pulled up a mental chart of the ship’s basic layout and played out Ahsoka’s path through it again to the best of her capabilities. She hadn’t been moving as she should have, she had taken so many detours it was difficult to make out just where she could have been but she distinctly remembered Ahsoka entering the dorsal landing bay from the same side of the ship as the two flux conductors from the power core towards the frontal laser and ion batteries.

“Switch on the auxiliary, now!” the Lieutenant ordered.

That the main power to the batteries had been lost meant that she had tampered with the main flux conductor, but that in itself was no issue. The only hazard was if both conductors were switched on at the same time -  then the extra power would overload the batteries and –

She made the conclusion just in time to watch it happen before her eyes. Along the entire front of the stardestroyer, the power lines which led to each battery erupted into flames, ejecting molten metal, wreckage and unfortunate crew into space. For the first few seconds, there wasn’t a single sound as destruction on a mad scale tore through the reinforced fuselage of the massive ship. When the shockwaves reached her, they rocked the bridge so harshly that she had to cling to the railing to remain standing. The bridge was in a chaos of orders being shouted about and alarms going off, but she was too astonished to look away from the sight outside. The corvettes above unleashed all of their fighters and they tore into the reinforced fuselage with everything they had. Proton torpedoes, proton bombs, red lasers – all of it adding to the destruction of the _Exactoris_. When the TIE-fighters finally managed to engage the enemy, it was already too late. It didn’t make any difference if they could fight off the dissidents, the _Exactoris_ was lost.

She let go of the railing and put her hands together behind her back. She was aware that most of the bridge looked to her in despair where once they had looked to their Captain, but she paid them no mind.

She covered the length of the bridge in calm, measured steps and left them to their demise.

 

* * *

* * *

 

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

 

 

* * *

* * *

 

 

It was pointless trying to remain calm. She had succeeded in lying to herself, convincing herself that everything was fine but it wasn’t. It was far from the first time she’d tried it and coming to think of it, she should have known the consequences would be the same.

Complete and utter catastrophe.

The latest failure of the sort had nearly resulted in Adder’s escape. A loyal citizen of the Empire, which was a rare commodity in the Outer Rim, had found him on some factory planet with a name she did not remember. Arriving there unannounced, she had had the chance to gun him down with the TIE’s cannons but she had chosen not to in favor of capturing him alive. That mistake had allowed him to take-off and the result had been near three days of chasing his planetary shuttle. Angered by her decision, the contempt for his life had only grown as the chase dragged out. He had been ridiculously outmatched in both firepower and ship class yet he had still managed to out-perform her and be one step ahead. That had made her bitter beyond words until all she could think about was how she was going to tear him apart. In the end, the anger and resent had combined to form a strangulating hold of her heart. She hadn’t been able to think clearly before the final blow had been struck.

She wondered if this was going to be just like that. The symptoms were the same; she had been angered, she had been bitter and now, she felt her heart squeezed by an unexplainable force. Was she going to enter the same frenzied bloodlust as she had with Adder? Was she going to lose control again?

_Are you going to try and get us both killed again?_

Barriss was silent as she should be. She was cowardice, she was frailty, she was every shortcoming the Inquisitor could think of.  Reduced to manipulating Ahsoka’s image to haunt the Inquisitor’s dreams, Barriss had made herself something even viler than a spider-roach. Her loathsome ploy had been played so many times that the Inquisitor had believed that Ahsoka was only that – a twisted memory from the past or a weapon in Barriss’ hastily shrinking arsenal. It was that vulnerability which Barriss had exploited to impair the Inquisitor’s rule over her own body and if she was able to do that, then what else could she do? What else did the Inquisitor not know?

She spotted a fork in the path ahead and aligned her thoughts with the first problem she had to solve.

“Which way is it?” she called over her shoulder. She was half running at a hasty stride with Yena right behind her, and after Yena was the twi’lek, who was struggling to keep up.

“Left and then it’s just straight ahead for another five minutes,” Yena replied efficiently.

_Just five minutes,_ she motivated herself. The issues pertaining to her two jedi nuisances would have to wait until she was safely onboard a ship.

They rounded the corner just as a patrol of stormtroopers rushed past them, led on by black mouse droids. The one trooper wearing a black shoulder pad threw them a glance and she ignored him. They were all dead men to her and she had to reach a shuttle or some other ship large enough for the three of them before the ship’s stabilizers or repulsors gave in. Fortunately, Yena’s advice was spot on as always and at minute five exact they entered starboard landing bay number two. As the three of them reigned up to a full stop, the Inquisitor took a look around. The hangar was massive and could hold several squadrons of TIE-fighters at once. She breathed in the heavy scent of oil and other tough substances in the air and everywhere around the spacious area there were stormtroopers in their white armor and crew of all branches in their gray or black uniforms. They were bustling around amongst maintenance machinery and vehicles in teams of two or more, some of them carrying hoses and cables and others carrying munitions. TIE-fighters landed smoothly on the deck, re-armed and took off again, but for every TIE that took off again, two were too wrecked to launch. The crews worked in perfect unison every time and they seemed completely indifferent to the shudders going through the hull whenever a proton bomb impacted. The sound of commands being piped through the speaker systems indicated that the battle was taking a turn for the worse yet it did nothing to unnerve them.

_They’re little more than clones,_ she told herself as she turned her attention away from the doomed men. She had never really had much to do with soldiers of the Empire and neither had she thought of their lives or their motivations. Little did she care too, as long as they served their purpose.

“Over there. Those Lambda-shuttles look untouched,” Yena announced and pointed to her discovery. There were five shuttles parked unattended at the aft wall of the hangar and she considered it. A shuttle would be of little use against enemy fighters, but they wouldn’t need to dogfight. All they had to do was get away from the battle and then engage the hyperdrive. With a few fighters as an escort they could easily accomplish that so she gave Yena a nod. Almost simultaneously, she felt the invisible hold of her heart tighten.

“What is it?” Yena inquired, taking a few steps forwards impatiently.

She had to support herself against some machinery which was vibrating as if working overtime.

“The force-…” she said but she wasn’t certain. She tried moving again but that only made it worse. She was anchored down where she stood and slowly,the noise around her faded. She looked up, trying to see who was doing this to her but all she saw was Yena’s inquisitive expression. Her lips were moving but the Inquisitor heard nothing except the unsteady beating of her own heart.

_Calm down,_ she told herself but that did nothing in itself. Darkness crept in all around her and the younger mirialan beamed fear in the force but the Inquisitor didn’t hear her voice. Instead, she heard a much more familiar voice whispering in her ear.

_“Baaariiss…”_ its gleeful voice greeted her. It wrapped its arms around the Inquisitor’s midsection in a solid embrace and the Inquisitor’s heart felt like it was going to explode. She could feel the apparition’s cold and damp breath against the side of her face and she was tempted to say the words that she never understood why she had to say.

_Ahsoka… I’m so-.. I tried._

The apparition responded by pressing its freezing lips against the Inquisitor’s neck. The intimate gesture felt like acid against the skin but she couldn’t turn away from it.

_“You haven’t given up, have you?”_ it asked. She couldn’t tell whether the surprise in its voice was faked or not but her reply came out automatically.

_Never._

She heard a dreadful laughter that was like shards of glass in her ears. If she could, she would have plugged her ears with her fingers but she was powerless. The horrible sound ceased only when the apparition covered her vision with its clawed hands and disappeared with its final words echoing in her mind.

_“Then why are you afraid?”_

The world trembled around her and the soundless, dark dreamscape faded. The first thing she saw was Yena’s scared eyes searching hers and when she responded, the younger Inquisitor inquired fervently, “are you alright? You were zoned out, I thought you- What happened?”

It was a new thing to her, seeing another Inquisitor so distraught. There was a near blinding light behind Yena, but she could still see her fidgety hands which she seemed unable to place anywhere. Undoubtedly, Yena wanted to do something to help but she didn’t know what. It reminded her of her former self, when Barriss had discovered her force-healing ability. It had been a similarly stressful situation where one of the other younglings, a human boy, had been involved in a serious accident. She didn’t remember his name nor the particular circumstances, but she remembered the look of utter horror in his face and how he had begged for help. She had called for aid but he had kept on begging her to do something. With no Master Luminara there to supervise her and no assistance in sight, she had done what came up first in her mind. She had placed her hands on his chest and meditated. More to her own surprise than his, it had worked. After that, it had taken her a long time to figure out what exactly she had done. Afraid to relive the experience, she had on occasion denied doing anything to the boy, but of course, Master Luminara had seen straight through her. If she hadn’t, it was a good question whether she would ever have realized her own potential.

But however much it did to ease her twisting heart, it was all a long time ago and healing was not something she was likely to ever be practicing again. All it did was remind her of another thing she had sacrificed.Unwilling to be caught up in the past and risk losing herself and her wayward apprentice, she took Yena’s hands to stabilize herself. “I’m fine, but Yena, you’re shaking.”

“W- What? I – “ she stuttered. She probably didn’t understand how curious she looked, but she sobered up quickly. The worry drained from her body and she pulled up the fallen Inquisitor. “I was worried you had another… Episode.”

“You shouldn’t be so quick to show concern for my safety,” the Inquisitor said as she gathered her strength again. She waited until Yena had given a nod of understanding and then she led on.

“Let’s move, there’s nothing but death here.”

If anyone heard her ominous opinion of the situation they didn’t show it. As she searched the faces of crewmen they passed, she had to squint her eyes to see. It was as if she had achieved night vision during her time in the spontaneous purgatory and her eyes refused to adjust to the brightness. Yena didn’t notice it, nor did anyone spare them a glance as they made their way towards the ship. Once they were inside they split up without exchanging a single word. Yena took care of their prisoner and the Inquisitor occupied the pilot’s seat. She wasn’t very well versed in flying these things but it ought to be simple enough. It was easy to get the engines going and the controls weren’t tough. They had plenty of fuel and although not all weapons were installed, the deflector shields were all in order and the hyperdrive was working. That was all they would need from the ship and all she had to do next, was to enlist the aid of a few fighters to keep them safe while they made their escape.

“She’s bound in the back,” Yena said as she entered the cockpit and strapped herself in the co-pilot’s seat. “All systems set and ready?”

“We just need an escort and we’re good,” the Inquisitor replied and raised a hand to the panels above. “One or two TIE-fighers should do it – they won’t dare refuse us.”

She found the switch to close the cargo ramp and the switch to activate the repulsors, but her fingers hesitated.

_What is that?_ she asked herself. There was a moment of pause to her suffering which allowed her reprieve and the clarity of mind to see what was happening around them. Through the cockpit glass they could see chaos erupting in what had been orderly moments before. Abnormally bright flames were licking at some of the walls and there were wounded men lying about. Shrapnel rattled against the canopy of the ship when smaller explosions went off in the hangar though the unarmored men were not as durable. Several of them were cut down where they stood never to rise again and there were no medics in sight to take care of them. It was clear that time was up. Still, her fingers did not move.

“Shall I request the escort?” Yena asked, staring expectantly at the Inquisitor.

“Wait,” she said and debated internally whether to open her mind to the force or not. It meant she would open herself to the pains of the many deaths around her but it also meant opening herself to anything the force might be trying to tell her. Casting aside her fears she decided to do it and within a second she felt enclosed, as if there were mental walls keeping her locked in.

_Ahsoka._

She bit down hard and tasted blood before she felt the pain.

_Twice in a day._

She felt her nails dig into her hands as the flames of hatred swallowed her heart. She did not bother taking the careful approach of examining the barriers in her mind, rather, she battered it head-on and sensed it crumble like the inferior fortification it was.

_You’re not as crafty as you think,_ she told the enemy within. The mental trick was as dastardly as one could expect from a jedi and it might have worked if not for the Inquisitor’s overwhelming power. As the trick unraveled completely, the only thing keeping her from taking out her spiking rage on something on the ship was imagining Barriss’ horrified expression once she saw what Ahsoka would become. As a padawan to the Chosen one, Ahsoka had been nearly as reckless as he was but she had been twice as compassionate. She had carried every single death that was a result of her actions with her and she had never found a way to get rid of her guilt. A lot of jedi had been of the opinion that what they did was for the greater good or that they did what they had to do, no matter how horrible the deed. Ahsoka had, rightly so, never understood those views and she had never seen herself sending people to their deaths. Her efforts to conform to the jedi ways had taken their toll on her and it had crushed her just as much as it had Barriss who had been watching all along. It was curious to think that both of them had seen the anguish within the other, but never within themselves.

_Perhaps that is still the case,_ she wondered. Ahsoka did say she saw the internal conflict within Barriss, but could she see through the Inquisitor as well?

_It doesn’t matter,_ she decided. _Once I have her, there will be nothing left to see within me._

Both Barriss and Ahsoka would be nothing but memories of a time when weakness was allowed to strive. She imagined Ahsoka with her brazen smile and her bold demeanor and then wondered how long that would that last in a cage. Barriss had attempted to manipulate and deceive, but that had failed to bring Ahsoka on the right path. This time, she was going to use the recipe she knew would work. There would be no manipulation and no dishonesty. Ahsoka had to understand that there was no other way and that the Inquisitor was too strong. Granted, she had been taken down by treachery, but that was over now. Barriss had played her trick and she couldn’t play it twice.

Something rustled her shoulder and she looked over to yet another of Yena’s startled expressions.

“Are you alright? Should I take the controls?” she offered.

“Stay on the ship,” the Inquisitor said as if compliance to her plan was an undisputed fact.

“What? Where are you going? You said there’s nothing but death here! The ship is going down!””

The deep hollow sound of metal being pounded rang throughout the ship. Yena was right in that the ship was done for, but if her premonitions were right – as they always were, then it would be worth going down with it.

“She’s still here. Don’t wait for me if the ship suffers complete failure,” she said in parting and then sat off towards the cargo hold to the sound of protests but she heard no steps behind her. Already she could feel the quakes in the force after the destruction of the mental cage she had been in all along. Around her, the odd brightness dissipated and rematerialized into a single entity that she could not see but that she could feel. She made that her focal point and demanded that the force shield her and hide her presence in the somber currents of dying men and women in the force.

Immediately upon exiting the shuttle she detected the faded montrals of her tormentor moving amongst the corpses of Imperial crewmen. The sickly yellow eyes made the cheerful smile that was on her lips appear ever more macabre and she moved around with a light jump to her step as if she was overjoyed. No one else noticed the apparition and her first instinct was not to shy away from it as it had always been, it was to follow it. She knew that no good could come of the devilish image of Ahsoka, but she also knew what the force told her. Ahsoka was still on the ship and no matter how or why she was still there, the monster was going to lead her to her.

Giggling like it was a game of tag, it took off in a direction and she followed even though what she was doing was borderline insane. It could only be a matter of minutes before the last of the stardestroyer’s systems gave in and they all perished but then again, she wasn’t the only one who had lost her sanity. She darted past patrols of stormtroopers, crew and officers headed everywhere and nowhere. Did they even understand that they were about to die? Did they care? It was laughable to her in that moment to think that the principles of law and order were so deeply imprinted in the minds of every Imperial soldier that they were willing to die for nothing with no questions asked. Yet thinking of it, she was struck by an unforeseen chill. It reached all the way into her bones and she felt her heartrate triple.

_The artificial atmosphere generators must have given in,_ she stipulated, but there was something about the entire situation that hit her harder than it should have. The Imperial soldiers could have been asked to kill their own families and they would have done it without a second thought. They might even have enjoyed it, knowing they were serving true justice and that unsettled her immensely.

_“Baaa-riiiiss?”_

She shook off the dread and put herself back on the pursuit. These thoughts didn’t belong to her and they did her no good. If she gave Barriss more thought then she was only improving her chances to make a difference again. Having to sprint to keep up with the corrupt version of Ahsoka, the warmth of motion served as a counterweight to the chill but it couldn’t completely eradicate it.

Up ahead, her guide paused. She had reached a relatively narrow access tunnel which had no doors in the sides and three stormtroopers couldn’t stand shoulder to shoulder at the broadest spot. There were racks everywhere, humming with fans or electrical equipment and she guessed that this was some sort of maintenance area. There were only two ways out of the place and one of them was behind her now. With no crew in sight, she could see why Ahsoka would take that path. There was no way she would be expecting this and at the same time the apparition disappeared into the obscure reaches of the other end of the tunnel, the real Ahsoka came running towards the Inquisitor.

_There’s no room for error this time,_ she inspired herself and took the lightsaber in her hands. She readied her body to absorb the impact should Ahsoka decide to try and get past her and it did seem like that was the plan, but then she slowed down. She came to a sliding halt at a distance where a blaster shot would have been easy and the look on her face was, to the Inquisitor’s satisfaction, one of shock.

“Clever trick,” she began, giving credit where credit was due. “But this ends here.”

Had she surmised the results of her defeat by watching the holo recordings alone, she would have been too hard on herself. Ahsoka’s montrals were partly covered with gauze and her frontal armor plates were scorched with several slices of soot where the Inquisitor’s lightsaber had struck. The flexible, mud-colored clothes left her forearms bare which had cost her. There were red scratches and lesser burns on the bare skin although the Inquisitor did not recall causing that.

Ahsoka shook her head to get past the confusion.

“It would have been better for the both of us if you had abandoned the ship and this meaningless hunt,” Ahsoka expressed as the broad, white stripes above her eyes turned down sharply, accentuating her frown. “Even you have to admit that this is suicide. Look around you – We’ll both die here and that’s not what you want, is it?”

“You know exactly what I want,” the Inquisitor proceeded, pleased to watch Ahsoka’s expression twist even though it was only for a second. “You had your chances to stop it but you didn’t. What am I to make of that? Perhaps you _want_ me to hunt you?”

“You’re delirious,” Ahsoka declared with a contemptuous headshake.  Her stance had changed, the Inquisitor noticed and she changed hers to match it. “Are you so lost that you do not understand why I let you live?”

Ahsoka’s words touched her heart like needles and the Inquisitor’s voice became barbed with the emotions bleeding through the confines of her soul.

“You have always valued compassion too much. Nothing but suffering and despair comes from it and if you stubbornly refuse to accept that then you will have both in plenty soon enough.”

Vents of steam were ejected from above before the ripples through the steel told her there had been another explosion - but Ahsoka hadn’t moved. Their eyes locked and the Inquisitor felt the tightness in her chest unwind enough to encompass a new blend of emotions. The dark side’s intoxicating tendrils took hold of her and she was reminded of just how soft Ahsoka’s montrals were.  Ahsoka’s fresh breath filled her nostrils and she could almost taste the lips she had desired for so long but always been denied. The dark side would give her the power to take it all if only she let it permeate her soul. If only she let go of control.

_No,_ she thought quickly, resisting what was clearly a trap. _How stupid do you think I am, Barriss?_

When the second explosion rocked the deck, Ahsoka tried to move and the tunnel was cast in crimson light. Ahsoka activated her lightsabers in response but she wasn’t looking at the Inquisitor. She saw something behind her and judging by the look in her eyes, it wasn’t something pleasant.

“I feel it too, Barriss. I know what it’s like, it haunts me too.”

“What are you talking about?” the Inquisitor asked, mystified by Ahsoka’s words. Was this some poor attempt at deception?

“It’s been worse than ever lately, hasn’t it?”

_She can’t mean –_

Icy claws dug into her back before she could think the sentence through. Her ears were filled with a freakish version of Ahsoka’s voice.

_“Doesn’t it feel good?”_

In an instant, it was impossible to resist what her body craved. Without her consent, the dark side started to wound its way into her veins like a parasitic liquid with a will of its own and she advanced on Ahsoka without ever having decided to do so.

_“That’s so much better, isn’t it?”_

“You have to fight it!”Ahsoka said hastily, attempting to embolden her but she was forced to pay attention to the Inquisitor as their blades came ever closer. “It’s not you, it’s the _Empire_! Fight them!”

Something about what Ahsoka said struck a chord with what little was left of the Inquisitor’s mind, but she struggled to keep her mind together.

_Why am I fighting it?_

“You’re stronger than this!” Ahsoka tried again.

_Isn’t this what I want?_

“Don’t give in to it!”

_Barriss is dead._

A girlish snicker filled her mind and she felt a pain she had felt a thousand times before.

_“Now, she is.”_

Sparks flew as the blades collided and with no will of her own, she watched herself lash out wildly, carving bright orange slices into computer stacks or the walls. Ahsoka was fast, parrying and dodging but the tunnel was far too narrow. She couldn’t slip past the Inquisitor without taking her out.

“Barriss listen to me!” Ahsoka continued, unhindered by the attempts at her life. “You can fight it! You _have_ to fight it!”

The more she engaged Ahsoka, the more the agony eased. A shower of sparks exploded from a destroyed rack and she had to duck and cover her face with her arm. Ahsoka attempted to leap over her but that was stopped with a force push. Ahsoka got up quickly, propelling herself with force-enhanced speed towards the Inquisitor but she saw through it and planted herself in the way of her body and her blade in the way of Ahsoka’s.

“I know I should have done something,” Ahsoka threw out, evidently attempting a new strategy. “But you’re right, I was too scared. But it’s not too late! Let me h–“

Ahsoka was cut off by the Inquisitor’s fist connecting with her jaw. It probably hurt herself more than it did Ahsoka but she didn’t care. Her face split in a manic grin, thrill relieving the agony.

Bleeding from her torn lip, Ahsoka grimaced. She wasn’t caught off guard as the Inquisitor’s lightsaber came forwards in a vicious thrust towards her abdomen. She cut down with both lightsabers and moved forwards, forcing the Inquisitor to either get out of the way be severed in half. The Inquisitor chose the first option and performed a stunning feat of agility, leaning back deep enough to touch the floor with the back of her head and then using the built-up tension in her body to work her leg like a spring to offer Ahsoka a nasty uppercut with her boot. She made some unintelligible sound of discomfort but she was back in the assault so quickly that the Inquisitor only barely met Ahsoka’s white sabers with her single red in time.

They both had the same idea and threw a force push at each other. They were evenly matched and they stood locked in that position for five seconds before the Inquisitor’s strength gave in and she was driven backwards with enough force that she made a mirialan-sized bulge in the rack she landed in. Screaming pain sprung to life in her bones but the dark side dulled it to the point where it was nothing but slight tickles. Driven to the point of complete disregard for her own safety by the staggering power she possessed, she flung herself at Ahsoka again.

Ahsoka had given up trying to reason with her and she was prepared this time. She made a series of high-speed feints which forced the Inquisitor back. Furious and unable to comprehend how Ahsoka could hold her ground, the Inquisitor came at Ahsoka with a ferocity she never would have deployed if not for the insistence of the apparition.  It was easy for Ahsoka to deflect and parry but it kept her on the defensive and it killed more of the time they had so preciously little of.

Until her saber was caught between two white and then twisted out of her hands.

Before she understood what had happened, she saw the world rise around her. The hard feeling of her knees landing in the deck broke the illusion but then an immense, searing pain originating from her chest threatened to drown her senses. She let it and by focusing on the agony, she could finally resist the hold of her mind long enough to think but by then it was far too late.

The claws let go of her back and she tipped over to land in something soft. Amazingly, she found the strength to speak but there was only one thing on her mind.

“I-...  _hate you_ … Barriss.”

 

* * *

 

 

That she felt out of place on the make-shift troop carrier was an understatement. Cayleen Hoss had actively been trying to avoid authorities for most of her life and now, she was headed straight for them.

“If you stay in the back you’ll be fine,” a man said to her with a grin that was nearly invisible due to his massive gray beard. He towered over her but for a man of his size, his voice was surprisingly kind. His words were meant to be reassuring but she could not look past the fact that everyone around her was wearing body armor and helmets. She had nothing to protect herself with except for _Shilka_ of course. However, she had volunteered so she had to smile back at him.

“Thanks, but I think I can keep up with an old geezer like you.”

He let out a hearty laughter that was irritatingly infectious. She felt better for it already though that was cut short by her stomach growling. They had given her some grub but she was having some trouble digesting it. She’d been living off ration bars for close to a week and that couldn’t be healthy.

“Alright listen up!” the leader of the squad said, calling for attention. Hoss looked to the ramp of the cargo hold and so did the geezer. The ship had several fighters parked along the outer walls of the hold – Tapham’s among them, but there was still plenty of space for the twenty-odd troops their squad consisted of. The leader was a tall, dark-skinned woman with tied-up brown curls. She wore segmented body armor with a forest camouflage pattern just like everyone else, but on her head was a thick cap with the rank insignia of a Sergeant in the middle of the shade. Most of her kit didn’t fit a single biome and at a glance, Hoss might have categorized her as a bounty hunter or a mercenary, but that was unlikely. As the woman was waiting for everyone’s private chatter to die down, she glanced across the men and women who she would be commanding. When her hickory-brown eyes reached Hoss, she knew that this leader was made of the right stuff. _That_ was reassuring.

“We’re going in hot,” she began. “We’ll be assaulting the port side landing bay. The Imperial batteries are silent and they’re most likely busy getting themselves the hell out of there, but we’ll still be going in guns blazing.”

A nearby detonation rocked the massive ship but nobody moved an inch. They were paying close attention to their Sergeant and that meant she probably should as well, but she couldn’t help herself staring. They all had severe faces and their equipment bore marks of excessive usage. More than a few had highly customized rifles or headwear and that was enough to convince her that they had to be hardened soldiers – veterans perhaps. Whatever cell these men belonged to, they had a much tougher job than hers.

“All we gotta do is go in, get our operative and get out. Simple in and out mission. Any questions?”

Nobody spoke up.

“Alright, lock and load! We’re going in in five!”

Hoss drew _Shilka_ and made sure her equipment was in order. She didn’t feel as nervous as she thought she would in such a situation. Dreem wasn’t with her as he was resting in the medbay, but with all these troops around her what could go wrong? It was a simple pickup mission and if a jedi could disable an entire stardestroyer, she wasn’t worried about their chances of success. She saw that the squad was organized into several groups and as the appointed group leaders took care of their men, the Sergeant came over to Hoss.

“You’re the pilot who came flying from the moon, right?” she asked, eyeing Hoss up and down in a manner that made her feel even more out of place.

Hoss nodded and took notice of the other woman’s face. She had the voice of a woman at Hoss’ age but with her weathered appearance, she looked much older.

“That’s me. I’ve got a bone to pick with the bucketheads,” she replied, thinking of her precious _Anguilli_ which was now a smoldering bunch of scrap metal. “I hope you don’t mind?”

The Sergeant laughed.

“We can always use more people who know how to use a blaster,” she said. “You’ll be joining my group and don’t worry about the plan, just follow me and do what comes natural, alright?”

“You got it,” Hoss replied but before the Sergeant walked out of she remembered a question. “You only mentioned one operative by the way. I’m guessing yours got the others with her?”

The dark-skinned woman looked at her questionably for a few seconds before she spoke.

“The others?”

“Yes, the Empire took three of us,” Hoss explained and tallied her fingers as she listed the names. “Fulcrum, Captain Tikira and Adder. Which one of them is your operative?”

“Fulcrum,” the Sergeant replied quickly. “I haven’t heard of the others.”

The ship veered from side to side as the pilot pulled maneuvers. The sound of blaster bolts against the shields of the ship reverberated throughout the hull and the Sergeant became still as she listened in to the radio in her ear.

“Got it,” she told the coms and then looked to Hoss but she had no more information to give. “I don’t know about the others but we’ll find out soon enough. Get ready.”

With those words she grabbed her blaster and Hoss started flipping _Shilka_ as per usual when she got too nervous or too bored _._ The movements of the ship told her that the pilot’s plan of attack didn’t go further than swinging the ship from side to side like any newbie would do.

_Like Dreem would do,_ she determined and thought back to one particular relief mission. She and Dreem had delivered a container’s worth of spare parts to a collection of farmers on a planet in the Felucia system and were on their way back to the cell. They were half a parsec away from being able to make the hyperspace jump when weequay pirates attacked them. She had given him the controls and retired to the cabin because their mission was done and he had need of the practice – needless to say, she had been quite alarmed about his rookie maneuvers and of the blaster fire he hadn’t avoided. If she hadn’t been able to climb her way into the cockpit and take over they would both have been taken and sold as slaves on Zygerria or something worse than that.

There was a brief moment of weightlessness and an end to the senseless maneuvers which meant the ship had entered the synthetic gravity inside the stardestroyer. A heavy clank told everyone that the landing was complete.

“Lower the ramp!” the Sergeant called though Hoss didn’t see who she was talking to. The ramp was released with a resounding metallic clang against the deck of the hangar. Almost immediately, the hangar was filled with the noise of blaster fire, red bolts flying everywhere. It was hard to see anything from all the way in the back, but as the groups rushed out with their blaster rifles trained on either flank, she saw no one be cut down. She was the last to exit the ship and she was overwhelmed by the sheer size of things. She had never been close to a stardestroyer before and it dawned on her how large it actually was. The hangar could have held at least five corvettes and still have room for hundreds of fighters but at the moment it was near void of them. The walls were clinically white and the floor was onyx durasteel except for the white, armored shapes which were in a full retreat. They were moving across the empty hangar deck towards the back where a large two-part gate was wide open. It looked to be the main access way.

“Keep firing!” the Sergeant shouted and pointed at the gate up ahead. “That gate dead ahead is the target! Second group, move up! First and third, spread out!”

She didn’t raise her blaster at all; there was no shot for her to take. Besides, it didn’t sit well with her to shoot at retreating soldiers – Imperial or not. The others were less sentimental about it and the blaster bolts flew back and forth even while they were scaling toppled crates, bundles of thick cables and transportable pipelines pulled out on the deck. She couldn’t see exactly how many stormtroopers they were fighting but the mass of white was dropping fast in numbers. She spotted one or two stormtroopers who had been hit lying still on the deck. Another was being dragged by two of his comrades but that only made them present easier targets for the rebels. Aghast, Hoss watched as the two dragging the wounded stormtrooper were gunned down mercilessly.

“Get to the gate! Go! We need control of that console!”

The Sergeant’s voice made her legs move. She passed over the dead bodies of the three stormtroopers and felt nauseous all of the sudden. The armor she had always been prone to hate seemed much less evil when it was half covered in black spots where blaster bolts had hit it. She made an effort not to think of the human body that was inside of it as she kept running. Up ahead were several towers of crates stacked three or four stories high on either side of the main gate. It was wide open and Imperial crew in gray and light-gray uniforms were rushing through it to get away from the action while stormtroopers poured in to get right into the thick of it. They were taking cover behind the wobbly towers and offering more firm resistance than before. The gate itself reached up two levels and was solid enough that even Hoss could see that the two-part horizontal door would be impossible to blast through should they be shut. The Sergeant wasn’t one to leave anything to chance it seemed. She shouted from the midst of the men, “don’t let them close it! Advance! Move, move _move_!”

As Hoss knelt behind a cluster of barrels, she breathed in the tang of soot and smoke in the air and it made everything worse. She placed _Shilka_ on the blue barrel in front of her and had to hold on with both her hands when she took aim.  The stormtroopers were incredibly disciplined, only taking safe shots and biding their time while more and more reinforcements arrived. None of them had seen her and they weren’t shooting in her direction which meant she got more than one clean shot – if she had fired. Unable to pull the trigger on any of the stormtroopers, she ducked behind the barrel and slapped her forehead several times.

_Come on Hoss, what’s wrong with you? They killed Castrian._

She heard the Sergeant shouting something but she couldn’t make out what it was. Her mind was already concerned with the image of a twenty-four year old mandalorian soldier standing tall in his best armor, but she could never maintain that picture. Before she could stop herself, she saw red blaster bolts piercing the suit of gray and blue armor.  His posture was thrown off as he crashed face-first into the ground. Gaping in horror, she could smell the burnt flesh as shot after shot lit up his dead corpse until it was nothing but a smoldering pile of scorched armor. Usually, she kept him out of her thoughts by thinking of all her losses as one. Often, she labeled them ‘business contracts’ or ‘robbed friends’ which spared her the pain, but this time something had cut straight through her. She couldn’t feel angry about it, all she felt was a sharp prod at her heart that kept telling her he wasn’t around any longer. He was dead – murdered by the Empire and all she had left of him was the weapon she was holding in her hands now. Back then she had sworn to use it to make the Empire pay just as the troopers were doing now, but where revenge _should_ have felt sweet, she only felt disgusted. The scent of burnt flesh was the same whether it was her brother or the stormtroopers and now she was reminded why she preferred working alone. This wasn’t silent sabotage, theft or smuggling. This wasn’t liberating slaves or delivering food to those in need. This was war. This was bloody murder and she had never wanted to take part in that.

“Left flank! Move up, move up!”

The stern order broke through her cloudy mind and she got up to join the battle again. No matter her feelings about the situation she had volunteered and she couldn’t let them down now. The stormtroopers were defending the gate with fervor and they were making good use of the crates for cover. The Sergeant was shouting more orders and two of the groups broke off to surround the defenders. Hoss stayed with her group and as they approached slowly while delivering withering salvoes of suppressive fire on the defenders, the Imperials were taken in the flanks and overrun. That left the way to the gate open and when they reached the wide-open gate, she threw herself against the wall, panting hard.

“You’ll get used to it,” a trooper next to her told her. It was the elderly man again and he didn’t look like he’d broken a sweat. His voice was compassionate and no matter what he had seen, she gave him a nod. It was too exhausting to try and explain herself.

“Get these crates down!” a gruff voice ordered. “Form a defensive wall!”

The rebel troops set to work immediately, putting themselves in harm’s way momentarily to establish a thick wall of crates which they had no idea what contained. Red blaster bolts came flying over their heads but they didn’t fret. In some way, she was impressed by their valor. The only soldiers she had seen in action were Imperial or Republic troopers and she had never been able to think of them as ordinary people. They were more machine than man, she had wrongly thought.

Suffering another prod at her heart, she nearly jumped when the Sergeant spoke again.

“You! Pilot!”

_That’s probably me,_ Hoss thought and true enough, she looked across the wide-open gate and found the insisting stare of the Sergeant.

“Look around the corner. What do you see from there?”

She didn’t think about it before sticking her head out and peeking around the corner into the hall behind the gate. It looked tall and stretched on further than she could see. It had rails built into the floor and she guessed it was meant for transporting TIE-fighters on trams perhaps, but she didn’t spend long pondering its use.

“Th-There’s at least five patrols coming!” she yelled back at the Sergeant, indicating the fifty stormtroopers or so which were advancing in the distance, but that wasn’t the worst of it. “They’ve got a walker with them!”

The huge, lumbering thing was maneuvering itself into position behind the stormtroopers and it would be able to get a perfect shot at them in moments. More than one trooper dared a glance to confirm what she had reported and more than one of them withdrew their heads with a curse.

“What are those bucketbrains doing?” a man next to the Sergeant said. “Why aren’t they abandoning the ship!?”

Maybe they were machines after all.

“Keep shooting!” was the stark reply from the Sergeant. “She’ll be here any moment, she’s never let me down before!”

The mass of enemies was getting closer and as the red blaster bolts came flying again, the troopers fired back at them. They were still about twenty left but they would be obliterated in seconds once the walker started firing. Watching it lumbering closer without anything happening on their own side, without any orders being given or anyone moving was horrible. It was like just standing there, waiting for death to come.

_Come on,_ she urged. _Where are you?_

She took aim at the stormtroopers as they came within range of her _Shilka,_ but she didn’t press the trigger. They fanned out to create a broader firing line and for every two of them that went down, a rebel trooper collapsed lifeless.

_Where is she?_

The walker stood close enough now that she could see the twin-barreled laser cannons aligning themselves. It would have been able to shoot at least five steps earlier, but they must have known that the rebels had nothing that could stop it. Now, it was getting ready take care of them in a single shot, but its sights went further than the hastily built rebel barricade.

“What is it doing?” a female trooper blurted out, but Hoss understood its intentions immediately.

“The ship! It’s aiming for the ship!” she yelled out desperately. A single blast could take out the ramp and without it, it would be impossible for them to make it out of there. Suddenly, death seemed very likely.

“Damn them all to hell!” the Sergeant shouted and turned to the outmatched troopers who were looking to her, clearly hoping she was going to give them the order to retreat. “Close the gate! We’ll find another way!”

The gray bearded man beside Hoss operated the console with one hand. His fingers moved with an astounding calm as he set the gate to emergency close which caused two outer layers of thin steel, which she hadn’t noticed so far, to shut immediately. The two main parts of the gate were slower but they didn’t sit around to watch, they retreated while the doors still lasted. Those who were too wounded to run were carried and as they made it across the floor, Hoss fell behind with the elders of the squad. The Sergeant was running beside her, talking furiously into her wrist com, “what do you mean _leave?_ What about you? Where are – What?”

Hoss had no idea what the other end was saying but judging by the look the Sergeant had, it was not what she wanted to hear. Her face was a hard-set image of frustration as she motioned for everyone to keep retreating.

“Get to the ship, we’re leaving.”

_What? We’re just going to up-end and leave?_

They had inflicted losses on an already dead crew and taken some themselves as their only achievements. What of the jedi? What of Tikira? Her questions remained unspoken as nobody questioned the Sergeant. The depleted squad of soldiers made quick pace across the hangar deck and before Hoss could catch her breath, they were inside the ship with the ramp closed. As the engines fired up, she held on to the barrel of a fighter’s cannon until the jittery movements of the ship had come to an end. Then, a short glance around the hold revealed that there were more than a few troopers missing.

_I hope it wasn’t for nothing,_ she contemplated glumly. The men and women of the assault squad were sat down amongst the cargo in utter silence. Not a word of discontent or sorrow was exchanged and she had rarely seen a more disheartening sight. They had just lost friends for nothing but nobody was frustrated. They should have been angry at the very least but she couldn’t see anyone showing it. Maybe they were all happy to risk their lives for the jedi, but they couldn’t all share Dreem’s opinion of them. Could they?

She gave up trying to reason with herself and suddenly felt compelled to sit down and join them, but the moans of the wounded caught her attention. None of them were loud but she couldn’t cool down with them constantly reminding her of what had just happened. Before the stretcher bearers arrived to take them to the medbay, she had left the hold. She didn’t know the ship or where she wanted to go – only that she wanted to get out of there. Whether it was by some sort of instinctive call or random chance, she wandered straight unto the bridge.

_Oh right, the battle isn’t over._

There were a number of seats positioned in ascending height from the fore to the back. About half of them were occupied but even then, none of the seats were too tall for her to look over. She could see the star destroyer taking up most of the view outside the windows and it struck her that they were actually still fighting a battle out there. Red and green plasma lit up the darkness along with scattered fires and breeches in the massive hull of the Imperial ship. She was very glad that they weren’t on it any longer but the Imperial crew wasn’t so lucky.

_There’s got to be thousands of people on that ship,_ she thought and didn’t know what to feel about it. A ship that size had plenty of escape pods but where would they go? It was better not to think of it but with everything going on, it was useless trying to gear down and so she looked for something to do. She spotted the Sergeant standing in the front where all of the seats had at least three consoles each and she stood over one of them. Maybe Hoss could be of assistance and just maybe, she could get some answers.

“Fulcrum, this is Thresher One do you copy, over?” the Sergeant spoke to a holographic image Hoss recognized from somewhere. It looked like a special sort of double-bladed knife with a handle in the middle.

The Sergeant’s foot was tapping away impatiently while she waited for a reply and when she noticed Hoss she waved her over.

“Pilot, I can’t get a hold of Fulcrum. Do you have any sort of coms with your people?”

She did have her coms linked up with Tikira and Dreem but she had never synchronized it with Adder’s.

“I can try Captain Tikira,” she said and brought up her coms but she couldn’t help herself asking, “are they alright? Why did we leave-“

“Not now! Just hail them,” the Sergeant intervened and Hoss felt bad for even asking. The Sergeant was already trying to reach Fulcrum again so Hoss spoke into her own coms.

“Captain can you hear me? It’s Hoss.”

There was no response so she tried again but with the same result. She heard the Sergeant punch something that gave way before addressing the entire bridge.

“Keep on the lookout for an escape pod and keep our channels open, she might be trying to hail us from an Imperial ship.”

_She doesn’t know,_ Hoss thought but kept that to herself. The Sergeant looked stressed enough without her useless questions and so she just tried hailing Tikira again.

“Captain, this is Hoss. Can you hear me?”

The Sergeant sat down in the seat, ripped off her cap and planted her elbows on the console. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut and groaned powerlessly.

“Forget it you’re wasting your breath.”

Hoss sat down in the seat beside the Sergeant as there was no reply yet again. She propped an elbow on the console and ruffled her hair into a mess.

_I need a shower,_ she decided but such a luxury wasn’t a commodity on a battlefield.

“The name’s Kaeden by the way,” the Sergeant told her without lifting her head.

“Hoss. A pleasure.”

Kaeden brought up the holographic image again but she didn’t speak. The bridge was quiet and Hoss guessed they were concentrating on the fighting. There was none of it close to the ship and there were few bolts of any color flying through space. The battle seemed to be over but at what cost? Of those she had seen get killed there was probably hundreds more she hadn’t seen – not to mention the jedi.

Sighing, she realized she was going to have to be the one to tell Dreem.

 

* * *

 

 

She refused to even consider the possibility that her Master wasn’t coming back.

It had been close to twelve minutes since the Second Sister had rushed off into the stardestroyer to find the jedi. The landing bay had long since been abandoned and she was the only one there. Despite her instincts telling her to flee or run or at the very least put herself in the pilot seat of the shuttle, she stood outside next to the cargo ramp. Her hands were collected at the small of her back with her knuckles prodding into her spine. Her feet were placed firmly on the deck and there was a very slight hunch to her stance that spared her back just enough that she might stand there for hours if need be.

_Remember what she told you._

_You must be patient._

Her Master’s parting words on the first day of her training had never left her. While at first, most of what she had been told had been incomprehensible to her, she had eventually understood what it was her Master had attempted to imprint into her. It was vital that she did not give in to the easy temptations that the Empire offered and that she _survived._ Not only in the sense that she stayed alive but also in the sense that she retained who she was. If she gave in to the lures of the dark side and became obsessed only with her search for power then she would forget that _vengeance_ was all that mattered.

She tasted the word and once again imagined what it would be like to see those who had wronged her dead at her feet. This time, she saw Inquisitors in their black uniforms with their sickly greed frozen in their golden eyes. Their lifeless forms still bore sizzling cuts from where her lightsaber had ended their wretched lives and around her, the temple was on fire. She could still smell the smoke and hear the screams but she had relived the scene so many times it only served as a reminder now. There were times she didn’t see Inquisitors but stormtroopers or even civilians in spite of the fact that they hadn’t been there. She took it as a sure sign of what was to come and relished in it. There was no clearer sign that the force wished for her to endure until she could strike back – and she had endured.

For years, she had toiled for the Empire, knowing that she was meant for more. They required loyalty and results and that was what she had given them. She had ripped more force sensitive newborn from their mother’s arms than she cared to keep count of and delivered them to be processed. Officially, she concerned herself only with Project Harvester, but she spent as much time as she could get away with researching and training for the day her patience would pay off.  It was the belief that kept her awake at night and the motivation she used whenever her consciousness tried to prod at her. Under her own strict governance she had achieved a power and knowledge of the force that few Inquisitors could boast of and that was partly why she was able to tell that her mission into the Outer Rim was much more than what the Inquisitorius had thought it to be. She had known at once what the force was trying to tell her and she had eagerly leapt into hyperspace, risking everything to reach who she knew was on the other side.

But the reunion with her Master had not gone as planned. The Inquisitorius had told her little of what to expect and she certainly hadn’t expected to arrive straight into such a mess. If it had been any other Inquisitor, then her Master would most likely have been dead. Those vultures would have leapt at the chance to secure themselves a kill, regardless of what happened to anyone else. She didn’t believe in luck; it had to have been the will of the force that she got there just in time. Reinforced by that fact, she had eagerly taken up the role of Apprentice and carried it out as she had always imagined she should but she hadn’t been prepared for the level of indifference she was going to meet. Her Master acted as if the Apprentice had always been there and that she had only carried out her duty when she saved her life. That should have been satisfactory, but she couldn’t help but feel that something was missing. They had of course never had the time to properly form the bond between Master and Apprentice, but that didn’t seem to interest her Master at all. It was difficult to decipher exactly what was going on, but everything Yena had hoped for was threatened and there was depressingly little Yena could do about it. Her Master was deeply focused on the capture of the togrutan jedi and very little else seemed to matter to her. She hadn’t even called in the observation yet which struck Yena as fatal misconduct. Why would she take on such a challenge all on her own? It couldn’t be about the glory because had she wanted that, she would never have accepted staying in the Outer Rim for so long. But then what was it? And why did it bother Yena so much?

_Patience,_ she reminded herself. Answers would come in time. She had been told to wait on the ship and standing just outside it was as much as she was willing to stretch the meaning of the order. A good Apprentice did as she was told but it was still a challenge to stand there while her Master was off on her own. She should trust her Master of course, but she was still letting her down. An Apprentice was supposed to have her Master’s back and support her when she needed it and how could she do that when she was standing idle? She wasn’t prepared to lose her Master this soon.

A wave of heat washed over her and she was glad that she had decided to wear the helmet. Bright-yellow flames exploded from broken piping above but her semi-heat resistant uniform offered protection.  It wasn’t going to help her much if the airlock shields gave in though and it seemed like their power regulators were about to. The enormous, transparent, white-hued shield that separated empty space from the artificial atmosphere of the landing bay was flickering dangerously and if it failed completely, the emergency shutters would kick in and she would be trapped.

She considered what her Master had told her. If the ship went down, she wouldn’t want her to die here waiting, but what was the alternative? Flee and go back to an Inquisitorius that would execute her for failing? Then she’d rather go down with the ship and her Master even though it pained her to think that the Empire was going to get away with what they had done, but she owed her Master her life. She couldn’t go back now. There were no second chances in the Imperial system.

She felt a pull to the left and looked to see the entire landing bay listing to the side. The stabilizers had given in and she could hear the brakes on the shuttles groaning as they withstood the building friction. The corpses littering the deck started sliding towards empty space along with un-docked TIE fighters, machinery and parts. If she was going to leave this place alive, her Master had to come walking through the entrance within seconds so she threw a glance back in that direction but she wasn’t there.

Someone else was there.

_Jedi._

She knew what that meant.

_She’s dead._

As the jedi came towards her at a force-enhanced sprint she took her lightsaber in hand. Her eyes stung and it felt like someone had thrown a bucket of ice cold water over her head.

_The jedi killed her._

A rage more intense than any she had ever felt before burned away her patience. The togrutan jedi was easy to recognize from the holo recordings but in the force, she was different than anything Yena had ever met before. Had she closed her eyes she would have seen a bright, white light – that was what it felt like looking at her. But there was something more to her radiance than a strong presence with the light side of the force. There was an emotion amongst many which was far superior and which could not be dimmed. Yena felt it clearer and clearer as the jedi jumped over sliding obstacles and dead men to get ever nearer to the ship. The jedi finally came to a halt when she landed close enough to the ship that Yena could have engaged her with the lightsaber but she chose not to yet. Instead, she stared her Master’s killer straight in the eye and released the multitude of frustrations she had built up through years of suppression.

“What have you _done?!_ ” she roared.

“We don’t have time for this! Listen to m-“

“You killed her!” she continued and didn’t stop to wonder why the jedi hadn’t pulled her lightsabers yet. She was going to spend the rest of her life alone without her Master and it hurt more than any torture she had ever received.  All those years spent working for those who had destroyed her life were meaningless. Her family, her friends and all those the Empire had forced her to slaughter were never going to be avenged. The only thing she had achieved in her short life was to be a good and loyal pawn and now, she could choose to go back and be executed for being a failure or make herself scarce and be executed as a traitor.

_All because of this fallen traitor. This… jedi._

The injustice of it all was unbearable and there was only one way to release.

_“Die!”_

“Wait! She’s not-“

The crimson blades hissed as they burned through the air. The rotation made them a flying disc of red plasma but the jedi set off and the double-bladed lightsaber landed against the deck, deactivating without having done any harm.

_“_ Fight me you coward!” Yena screamed as she followed the togruta through the air with a poisonous glare. The jedi was mocking her, refusing to join the duel.

“Why won’t you listen!? She’s not dead!”

She called the lightsaber back to her hands and reactivated it. She then rotated the two blades seven times as she performed a deadly dance of feints and on the eight rotation she struck nothing again.

Deactivating the visor, she growled another challenge.

“ _Fight me!”_

The jedi had succeeded in getting around her but she halted half-way up the ramp, turned and looked down at Yena. Only then did she notice that the jedi was carrying a woman with a face she remembered.

_Master._

Why hadn’t she seen it immediately?

“I don’t want to fight you,” the jedi told her, her voice drained. “I can sense that you care for her and so do I. You don’t have to trust me, but if you don’t get on this ship and help me save her life then she is going to die.”

It was only then that she saw how taken by the situation the jedi was. Her shape indicated it had been a tough struggle but not only on a physical level. It became obvious what it was the force was telling her and for all the rage compelling her to launch another attack, she could not do it. The jedi was cradling the Second Sister in her arms as if she was the most precious thing in the world and she was worried sick.

That made her rage subside and she didn’t have to think long to make her decision. If there was even a chance that her Master was still alive and could be saved then she was prepared to do anything it took – even if it meant committing treason. She didn’t say it, but she deactivated her lightsaber and the jedi took the meaning and rushed up the ramp to enter the shuttle.

During an unspoken peace treaty, Yena helped the jedi place the Second Sister on the deck in the cargo hold. It was a small area with little space but nothing had been loaded onboard and there was nothing gentler to place her on so it would have to do. They both took great care and as soon as she was down, the extent of her wounds became clear. The black uniform had a long cut from the shoulder down the chest and Yena had to swallow a lump in her throat before she could continue. The jedi sent her a measuring glance and Yena didn’t know what that was supposed to mean but the only thing on her mind was to make sure her Master was going to make it. She let the jedi take off for the cockpit to handle the flying and if she was going to lead them straight into the hands of rebels then so be it. If the jedi was this committed to saving the life of her enemy then that meant wherever they were going, they were not going to be executed.

_At least not right away._

She found a medkit behind a panel with a red cross on it, tore it open and spilled the contents next to her patient. She was by no means a medic but she knew how to put on a bacta patch and the medkit had plenty of them. She knelt down beside her Master, took a knife from the pile and started cutting at the burnt uniform. The nasty gash went from her left shoulder all the way down to her solar plexus and while keeping her thoughts strictly on the work she had to perform, she couldn’t keep her eyes from watering.

_Focus. Clean the skin, dry the skin and apply the patch._

The movement of the ship made it difficult to work precisely, but the bacta patches were large and easy to handle.  She had no trouble working a sterile cloth with one hand and applying patches with the other and as she worked, the Second Sister gave out a series of choked sounds.

_Focus._

_Clean the skin, dry the skin and apply the patch._

_S_ he could feel the Second Sister’s ragged breathing whenever her chest rose and fell but that in itself was no precise indicator of whether her efforts were too late or not. When she was done with the patches, she found a densely packed blanket which she tore from its packaging. She covered up her Master as well as she could and then quickly felt her cheeks and her forehead. She was cold and her skin clammy with sweat but the only thing Yena could do about it was to wipe her with forehead with a cloth. Then, she found a flexible water container and brought it to the pale lips of her patient.

“It’s water, please drink” she said and was surprised by the anxiety in her voice. When the lips parted she squeezed the container and waited patiently for her Master to swallow it. She repeated that until the container was empty and then she brought in another until that was empty too. After that, she pushed unused bandages, wipes and other soft-looking medical equipment underneath her Master’s forehead to work as a pillow. It wasn’t much but it was all she could do for her with what she had. She took up the cloth and started wiping her forehead again but before she could repeat the treatment, the cockpit door swooshed open. She managed to catch a glimpse of hyperspace before the door closed again and then she returned the stare from the jedi.

“Where are you taking us?” Yena asked and to her annoyance, she couldn’t keep her voice firm. She was distraught and it was impossible to hide it.

“We’re going somewhere neither of us has to worry about being caught,” the jedi replied neutrally. Her voice was hoarse and Yena could see that she had taken a tough hit to her lip. She was still bleeding from it and Yena wondered just how gruesome the fight had been. “How is she?”

She made her way to the other side of the Second Sister, knelt down and offered to take the cloth but Yena wasn’t satisfied with the explanation put forth.

“Where?” she pressed and dipped the cloth against the Second Sister’s head again. She wasn’t ready to trust the jedi yet in spite of what she had seen. The Empire had taught her to loathe and despise their kind and working with one was perhaps the most disgraceful treason she could commit. Not that she gave a fig for what the Empire thought of her actions.

“You’ll have to trust me after all,” the jedi sighed. “Besides, I could easily have flown us to one of the ships orbiting the moon if that is what I wanted, but I didn’t because I know what they’ll do with you.”

“And why wouldn’t you want that?” Yena asked swiftly. “What are you trying to do?”

“I told you, I’m trying to save her.”

“You did this to her,” Yena said in a severe voice and gesticulated with a hand. “How is this _saving_ her? Why would you - ”

She bit back the last words because the answer was blindingly obvious. The jedi hadn’t been presented with a choice.

“Look…  It was never my intention to harm her but she gave me no other options. If I hadn’t taken her down then we would have been fighting until the ship went down.”

_She’s telling the truth,_ Yena bitterly admitted. She had gone in, well aware that the ship would go down in flames at any moment and in order to do what? Kill or capture a jedi who had already defeated her once? It was suicide and the jedi had done exactly what all the texts at the archive had told her a jedi would do. She had been unable to leave behind a wounded enemy and thus she had attempted a wild rescue, believing what she did was right.

“I understand,” Yena said but she wasn’t entirely sure of it. Something still didn’t add up.

“You do?” the jedi replied with one white marking raised warily.

Yena nodded as she squeezed the cloth, poured some water on it and used it on her Master’s forehead again. She was sweating profusely but she was much colder than what was healthy and as Yena continued caring for her Master, the jedi gave up her stare. There wasn’t much more to be said between them and Yena didn’t have a strong urge to confide in her enemy. Her Master’s life hang by a thread and that was all that mattered in the moment. That the jedi was concerned about her life as well didn’t have to make complete sense as long as she wasn’t posing a problem.

The togruta took a blanket-looking rag of some sort and used it to cover the Second Sister’s hair.

“What are you doing?” Yena asked curiously.

“Nothing,” the jedi said quickly and offered no further comment before she leaned close to the patient and spoke softly.

“Barriss? Can you hear me?”

Yena’s eyebrows knit together to form a frown at the use of the name, but her Master responded to it. Her head tilted towards the jedi and Yena could tell there was movement underneath the eyelids but she was too weak to speak.

“You know each other,” Yena said eventually as it dawned upon her. She was unable to take her eyes off the scene before her and as the jedi placed a hand on the Second Sister’s cheek, Yena’s heart twisted.

“We used to,” the jedi corrected her but the confusion only grew within her so she decided to listen to the force instead. The vibes she was getting through the force didn’t lie and the way the togruta’s fingers touched the Second Sister’s cheek as if it was her most prized possession suggested something she wasn’t quite ready to believe.

“You’re very concerned about her,” the jedi said out of nowhere. “I could feel it even before I saw you and I wonder why?”

“You don’t know me,” she answered vaguely. The only common cause they had was the woman between them now and besides that, they were still enemies. She didn’t want to talk more than she had to, but nothing she said now would make her any less of a traitor.

“That’s true, I don’t but why don’t you tell me who you are then? It’s going to take a while for her to recover and unless you plan to kill me - which I don’t think you will, we’ll be spending a few days in the same boat.”

“You sound very sure of that,” Yena said, expecting to see the jedi unsettled but all she showed was an impromptu smile.

“Because I can see her in –“

Before the jedi could complete the answer, a rustle by the other end of the cargo hold caught their attention. One of the panels in the wall was coming loose and Yena berated herself for not having done a better job.

“Captain?” the jedi said, quickly shifting a scrutinizing stare between the two of them. “What have you done to her?”

Yena rose from her Master and prepared to defend herself. She looked at the Captain who appeared the wreck she was. Her orange flight suit was ruined with dry blood and so was her face. It was difficult to tell whether her skin tone was originally orange or red as the swollen bruises made up most of what was visible. She got to on her feet with no small amount of trouble and with her bound hands she clung to the control panel for the cargo unloading system.

“I think you know what we did to her,” Yena replied slowly as her eyes met the jedi’s. The togruta was back on her feet quickly and moved towards the Captain.

“Captain? It’s okay, you’re not in any danger here. I’ve come to rescue you.”

The jedi’s voice was faint and hushed as if she was goading a beast which was perhaps the correct tactic to use. The Captain didn’t look like she saw the jedi for what she was and she pressed herself against the wall, her expression somber and her voice on the verge of grief.

“Who are you? Why- Where are we?”

Yena decided it was probably better not to say anything.

“It’s Tikira, isn’t it? We haven’t met, but I’m Fulcrum. You remember that name right?”

Fulcrum smiled, sincerely trying to appear friendly. It had to be something she had done before because it was a very convincing display – just not for the Captain. The twi’lek shook her head rapidly and clutched the controls. Her fingers narrowly missed the various buttons and Yena felt a chill run down her spine as she understood the danger they were in. If she pressed the right one she could open the ramp and that would send them all into the vacuum of hyperspace.

_Perhaps I overdid it this time,_ she chided herself, thinking of the torture she had conducted. She had become quite good at it over the years – _too_ good, perchance.

“Fulcrum? But - … Why are you with them?”

If she had sounded desperate before, she sounded utterly terrified now. She looked at the jedi much in the same way she had looked at Yena when the torture began and that made a smile tug at her lips. She would readily admit that the Empire had taught her to enjoy the misery of others but she had learned through blood and tears to fully savor it.

“I’m not with them,” Fulcrum said, shaking her head as to exaggerate her non-existing affiliation with the Empire. “I’m with the Rebellion – just like you.”

“You’re lying,” the Captain cried. “It’s a lie!”

Her auburn eyes took in the smile Yena couldn’t hide and she shuffled further into the wall.

“Captain?”

What came next was what Yena guessed was the twi’lek language and it was used to its fullest in what could only be elaborate insults. She could pick up the word ‘Imperial’ used from time to time but that was it. All the while, the jedi attempted to commune with her and calm her down but it wasn’t going to work.

The twi’lek knew what she was doing when next her hands moved and it seemed like the jedi finally realized it too. Before the Captain could move another muscle, a force push smashed her into the side of the shuttle. It sounded like she had shattered half of the bones in her body but her pain and her wailing came to a swift end with the vicious hiss of a lightsaber cutting through her fractured torso.

Yena deactivated the blade and looked at the jedi who had delivered the maiming force attack. She looked like a proton bomb had gone off right next to her but Yena understood immediately why the power had been so raw and disproportionate.

_She isn’t a jedi._

A lot of things started to make sense.

 

* * *

* * *

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

 

* * *

* * *

 

 

 

It was curious how a thing so small and insignificant could invoke such an inherent fear in her when it did not seem to touch the girl of fourteen at all.

The eight-legged insect had a venomous appearance and with its eight blood-red eyes staring at everything and nothing, it made Barriss’ back tense to watch Yena playing with the black insect in her hands. It was ascending her bare, yellow arm slowly until it reached the elbow at which point she turned her arm upside down, allowing it to make the climb all over again. There was something oddly innocent about her, just sitting there on her seat in the back of the shuttle. She could have been on her way to something as simple as the library for all the anxiety she showed and Barriss found herself mesmerized by the sight. It was difficult to believe that this was the same girl who had been terrorizing her fellow cadets by beating them and downright torturing some of them before Barriss had found her.

 _She has control,_ Barriss determined. It wasn’t hard to make that conclusion but it was surprising to see a girl that young grasp the force in such a way already. She couldn’t hide how impressed she was but before her lips could curl into a smile, Yena’s façade broke. The touch-down was less than gentle and it seemed to shake the girl back into reality. She shot Barriss a worried glance before hesitantly putting down the insect and getting to her feet. The ramp descended with a creaky sound and immediately, the brutal atmosphere of the world outside hit them.  A gale wind was blowing and even from inside the shuttle, Barriss felt the unbearable heat. Outside, the scent of fire and the dark side filled her lungs and she had to concentrate in order not to fall to its affections immediately.

Yena was squinting at the volcanic hills surrounding the landing platform. They stood in the middle of it and she said something but the sound of churning lava drowned out her words. Barriss placed a hand on the girl’s shoulder and found two lime-green eyes filled with uncertainty. She knew the words she wished to impart on her wouldn’t quell that uncertainty, but she had to say them anyway.

“Past is past,” she said, hoping Yena understood. “Now…  You must do everything they tell you. You must endure… You must be patient.”

Yena seemed to turn the words in her head, but eventually she nodded her understanding. Realizing that talking to a trainee would be seen as odd, Barriss placed a hand on Yena’s other shoulder and then turned her around to send her off like a mother sending her child off to her first day of school. She watched the trainee all the way to the end of the landing platform where the instructors, all uniformed Inquisitors, took her.

_She’s strong and she’s smart. She’ll make it._

Sucking in a breath that nearly made her cough she turned around on her heel and froze.

_It’s gone?_

Her hand automatically came to rest at the hilt of her lightsaber just in case this was a ploy but she was all alone in the middle of the platform. Perhaps the shuttle pilot had misunderstood her orders?

 _Unbelievable,_ she thought and felt irritated already by the amount of extra time she had to spend on the planet. She didn’t want to stay on it for a second more than she had to so she turned around again to head for the only building nearby. The instructors had moved inside and she followed through the only door there was.  It was heavy and shut immediately behind her with a resounding clang that told her the corridor was long even before the lights came on. The scarlet lights shining down from above stretched on as far as she could see but there was something wrong. There was no one else there and there were no doors at all.

_Where did they go?_

She took a few steps forwards but halted when she spotted movement in the distance. Narrowing her eyes, she couldn’t make out who it was. The person didn’t wear black nor any uniform she recalled and was moving at an incredible pace towards her. She took a tighter hold of the lightsaber but she didn’t know what to expect.

Not until she noticed blue and white stripes.

She turned and tried the exit but the door wouldn’t budge. Her fingers fumbled, but she activated the lightsaber and plunged the plasma sword into the durasteel. It took four seconds to carve her way through it but it felt like twenty. On the other side was another narrow corridor but before she took a look around she made sure the heavy metal slab she had cut from the door was back in place – just in time to hear someone or _something_ collide with it on the other side.

The sound of claws scraping against the other side of the door made her breath shallow.

_I have to get out of here._

She moved on in a sprint towards the end of the corridor though she didn’t know where she was or where she was headed.  The heat was insufferable even inside the building but the sweat on her back was cold. Her footsteps echoed against the walls and she couldn’t hear anything following her yet that didn’t make her want to slow down. She ran for what seemed like minutes before catching a glimpse of a door in the distance. Half expecting that she was going to hear the whispers of her old friend or that her legs would give in, she was surprised to reach all the way to the end unscathed – or at least that’s what she thought.

She read the number ‘706-1013’ off the plaque on the door and felt the unease sweep through her like a chill wind.

_This can’t be._

The door slid open but there was nothing but darkness in the room beyond. Her heart beat faster with every breath as she looked away, pooling her willpower to combat the urge to scream.

_I won’t do it._

She clutched the doorframe with her fingers and forced herself to close her eyes, to forget who that number belonged to and to remember that she wasn’t Barriss.

_Barriss is dead._

Memories and voices wanting to be heard came from the abyss but she ignored them. It felt like a hand had her heart in an iron grip but she refused to acknowledge the words Barriss was slipping into her ears. It was the same warnings she had shouted on the mining moon but she wasn’t going to accept them. She was weak and frail. She was a traitor and a murderer and there was nothing Barriss could say that would warrant her attention.

When the whispers died down she opened her eyes again.

_“Baaaar-riiiiss.”_

The corridor was gone and so was the heat. There was a taste of ash in her mouth and she couldn’t see where the voice was coming from.

_“Why are you scared?”_

Her lungs burned and she realized she was running and that she had to keep running.

_“I’m going to catch yooou!”_

The surface was rocky with endless stalagmites poking up like trees in a forest. Everything was covered in what resembled volcanic ash and the atmosphere had a scent of sulfur to it. The gravity was twice as strong as anything she had tried before and it felt like a challenge every time she took a step, but she wouldn’t allow herself to even contemplate a pause.

 _I’m sorry,_ she told no one as she leaped across what looked like a dried-out river and landed in a crouch on the other side. The feat sapped her energy massively and she had to summon her reserves to set off into a sprint again, darting through a craggy ravine until she met the somber stalagmites again. She felt the creature behind her like death itself and she tried to convince herself she could get away even though she knew how it always ended.

An animalistic howl tore through the world and Barriss fought back the urge to lie down and panic. She didn’t question the sudden appearance of a staircase before her; she simply started climbing for her life. Behind her, she heard the creepy sound of the monster’s footsteps.

_I’m so sorry, Ahsoka._

Underneath her, crimson lights sprouted from the steps along the entire length of the staircase. She saw geometric shapes, solid lines and runes light up red and she realized she was climbing an onyx pyramid. There was no time to ponder it, however. She knew she had to reach the top but she didn’t know why.

_“Why are you running, Barriss?”_

It sounded like the creature was right behind her, but she dared not throw a glance over her shoulder. Her legs were heavy and every muscle in them screamed for her to halt, but she refused. The top of the pyramid was in sight and she threw the last of her power into pushing herself onwards until she collapsed unto a brightly illuminated plateau. She had exhausted all of her strength but it had paid off. She couldn’t hear the monster behind her any longer but instead, she heard someone else.

“Master... Please-…”

The eerily familiar voice was broken by a terrible cough and without a care for how pathetic she looked, Barriss crawled on all fours towards the source of the voice.

“… Help me… I’- I’m… Dying.”

She was lying on her back with one hand on her stomach and the other reaching towards Barriss. The uniform was a copy of what Barriss wore and as she took the trembling hands of her Apprentice, she tried to hide the grief she felt by seeing the massive gash in her stomach.

“I’m here,” she comforted Yena and clutched her hand while she went through another fit of coughing. Her eyes were filled with fear and the color of her cheeks faded. There wasn’t much time left.

“What happened? Who did this to you?”

“T-The sith,” she replied mysteriously in a voice shaking with agony. “You told me to be patient. You told me-… You told me t-.. su-survive.”

“Yena…” she whispered and put a hand to her cheek. The gesture made the young mirialan Inquisitor breathe out shakily and Barriss could feel the deathly throes culminating.

“W-were you ever proud of me?”

Barriss stared into Yena’s eyes and wanted to give her consolidation. She wanted burningly to say _yes,_ but her lips wouldn’t move.

_“Thought you could get away?”_

Yena saw it too and as her eyes widened, Barriss turned to face death itself.

The monster approached one step at the time. It knew it had already won and so did Barriss, but she still stood up. Her body functioned mostly on the adrenaline still in her blood and the rest was willpower alone. The creature before her looked at her with hungry, hellish eyes but where Barriss felt a crippling fear, Yena, apparently, did not.

“Master…” she breathed out weakly. Something touched Barriss left hand and she opened her hand to receive Yena’s double-bladed ligthsaber. She hadn’t even noticed she had it, but with it in her hands, she felt her fear dwindle and be replaced by a ponderous wonder. Was there a way to fight back?

 _“Barriss?”_ the monster said in a voice filled with hurt. Barriss activated the lightsabers and in the blue light from the blades, the monster looked just as gluttonous and malevolent as always.

_“Had a change of heart?”_

_Have I?_

_Or is this just another one of your tricks, Barriss?_

It couldn’t be. Yena was there, her limbs worked and she was armed. How could it be a trick? The monster announced its intentions with a deafening howl, but Barriss held her ground. It was the first time she noticed that the creature had no semblance of tactics. It came straight for her like a mindless predator and when she thrust for the heart, she found herself baffled that it actually worked.

She remained in awe as the beast fell forwards and dissipated into her.

_“Barriss?... Is that true?”_

It felt like she had taken a breath of toxic fumes and the last of her strength left her. Jolts of pain went through her legs as her knees met the ground. The lightsaber landed not a second later with a heavy clang before deactivating and then she understood where the voice was coming from.

_“I did it…”_

The air grew thinner by the second and desperation made her dig her nails into her head like she could tear out the traitor. The single voice was joined by hundreds more until she was caught in a tornado of voices all demanding her attention. She couldn’t tell what was real and what was not but the images flying past her mental eye didn’t belong to her memory, she was sure of that. She had to act to stop Barriss but trying to think in the cacophony of noise made her headache worse. Attempting to do _something,_ her limbs started moving on their own. She crawled towards Yena’s body without thinking, focusing only on not slipping into madness. Yena’s expression went frantic and her lips moved but Barriss heard only the voices inside her of her head.

_“You have taught me well…”_

_“Master Luminara.”_

The weather was freezing but there was no wind inside the cave on Ilum. Barriss’ voice echoed off the walls and had she closed her eyes she was certain she would have experienced it all over, but that wasn’t going to happen. It wasn’t her.

_“It pays for one to be prepared, right Barriss?”_

Rough Geonosian sand was back in her face and she had to close her eyes. She saw her Master’s expectant gaze and she remembered the moment well enough that it was sheer will alone that she managed to stop herself from speaking her reply.

_Barriss’ reply._

Before Ahsoka’s curious voice could come back up in her mind, she forced her eyes open again and saw Yena reaching out for her. Even with her deathly wounds, she was more concerned about Barriss than her own life and that brought a pause to Barriss’ struggle. She exploited the moment to pull Yena as close as she could, resting her head against her chest. There was barely any strength left in her to keep Yena in her embrace but with her, the noise started to wear off and she was able to hear again.

“Please,” Yena pleaded lowly. “Please-… Tell … Me…”

Like some cruel form of torture, she was still bereft her voice and listening to Yena’s distorted pleas was all she was allowed. It was worse than anything the monster could have done to her and suddenly a deep regret filled her soul. Yena was utterly dedicated and it struck her that she didn’t fully understand why. She hadn’t spent time with her, she didn’t know her and she had never spent more than a moment being worried about her, yet she was dedicated to the point where she would give her life in exchange for hers. She didn’t deserve to die horribly like this and as Yena’s pleas died down and her breath grew ever more strangled, Barriss prepared herself for the inevitable.

The imprint death gave in the force was something that had left her in awe the first time she experienced it. To sense a living being transform into the force was a macabre thing and though it was not something she feared, it was something that had always unsettled her.  That was until Barriss had died. Until the darkness had manifested within her and shown her what death truly was: a thrill for the powerful. The weak feared it and she wasn’t weak.

So why was she afraid now?

Why did her hands shake?

Why did it feel like someone had sliced her heart in two?

There were no answers to her questions and when Yena ceased breathing, the pain finally came.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“You must have been fourteen or fifteen when the Empire took over.”

The words went straight through her. She had expected things to get personal at some point, but not that suddenly. Her fingers were already trembling from the hallowed breathing she heard from behind her and this wasn’t helping. It required precise effort and concentration to patch up the montrals without causing a lot of pain.

“You were old enough to be a padawan,” ‘Fulcrum’ explained. “Who was your Master?”

Her hands froze. The question bit her like a bug in the neck and warmth surged across her cheeks. She could feel ice blue eyes analyzing her face and she felt compelled to come up with an answer, but she had none. She had not had a Master or the rank of padawan even though she was old enough at the time and she didn’t know why. She had her premonitions, of course, but she didn’t want to dig that up again. It was in the past.

“It’s only going to get easier if you talk to me,” she said and Yena had to steel herself not to take a wrong step. Through their short time together, the togruta had done nothing more hostile than demanding she hand over her lightsaber – or rather, she had asked for it and Yena had complied. A smart rebel would have locked her up or incapacitated her in some way, but not this one. Not Fulcrum. Her presence shone strong with the rays of empathy and she had allowed Yena to roam free so that she could tend to her Master. She wondered where all that trust came from but she hadn’t asked because it wasn’t necessary. As soon as her Master was on her feet again then she would know what to do. Whether it was going to be bloody, Yena really didn’t care. She’d risk anything for her Master. She _was_ risking everything for her.

“Hey?”

It was just a light touch to her elbow but it sent a shock through her. She looked over her shoulder at the bed in which her Master was placed. The room was large enough that here could have been five more patients with beds and equipment but it was just them. Everything else was wrecked to say the least and whoever had occupied the space station before they got there had left in a hurry. All the overhead lights were out, but the light from the broad viewport behind her laid everything in the room in a blood-red shade. She didn’t know why she bothered to take a look; she felt her Master as clearly as she felt the togruta sitting beside her and there was still nothing she could do.

“She’s going to be fine,” Fulcrum said. Her eyes reflected the murderous color and the stripes of her montrals appeared darker. Had this been her usual look, she would have been terrifying.

“I know,” Yena said meekly and continued her work. She hadn’t gotten any better at hiding her distress and Fulcrum hadn’t gotten any better at hiding the pity she felt for it. At least that’s what she revealed in the force. Her presence was compassion unlike anything Yena had ever sensed before and it was difficult not to embrace it. It felt like the togruta really cared, however impossible that was. The only reason she noticed was because she had always wanted to talk to someone, preferably her Master. It was a weakness she had successfully repressed and she had to keep doing that. There was power in bottling up all the raw emotions associated with all the wrongs that had been done to her instead of letting them out. She had been taught to stir the concoction and use the uncontrollable anger she felt from it to her advantage and she couldn’t lose that. Not until her Master had taught her how to do without it.

“She’s been through worse than this,” Fulcrum said. Yena was cutting a piece of bacta-patch down to size and didn’t look up nor did she reply. It didn’t seem like Fulcrum was expecting a reply either.

“Of the two of us, Barriss was always the strongest.”

 _The name again,_ she contemplated, unable to decide if it was a good thing that the togruta used it or not. Her Master had never told her who she really was. She seemed content to be using her given rank.

“But even with her strength, she was always the patient one. She knew control much sooner than me or anyone else I knew… “

Fulcrum’s voice grew somber as if there was something painful in the words.

“She put a lot of emphasis on control.”

Yena got the down-sized bacta-patch in place and immediately reached for the next, but her wrist was grabbed. The hold was nowhere near strong enough to hold her, but she still made the mistake of looking the togruta in the eye.

“She’s in pain,” she said, her ice-blue eyes portraying just how affected she was by the situation. There was no way she was lying and Yena couldn’t bring herself to pull herself free even though she could.

“I just want to help her. I don’t know who you are but I know you want to help her too.”

Yena nodded faintly, aware that she was holding her breath.

“Please, tell me what you know.”

 _The breakdowns,_ she reminded herself. She had spent very little time with her Master but she knew from the imprint in the force that the Second Sister kept herself reigned down tightly. The impulses every Inquisitor had been taught to let themselves be ruled by were constrained and Yena had never seen an Inquisitor who did that – other than herself of course. She had a purpose greater than letting herself be consumed by a lust for power and her Master did too. Her breakdowns were strange upsets to that idea; what could be so traumatizing that it made her lose control? And why was she not using every tool in her vast arsenal to capture the togruta?

Fulcrum let go eventually and Yena breathed out. She didn’t have to say a word. She didn’t have to make anymore decisions until her Master was back on her feet.

“T-The bandages should l-last until the cuts are healed,” Yena stuttered as the last was in place. She stood back to observe her work and counted no less than twelve spots she had bandaged.

 “Thanks,” Fulcrum said offering yet another mysterious smile as if she hadn’t just been denied assistance.

“Don’t thank me,” she replied stiffly and started packing away the contents of the med pack. “We’re still enemies.”

“Are we?” she questioned back. It was annoying to have to deal with her perceptiveness and Yena knew what she referred to. What she had done made her a traitor to the Empire and she hadn’t tried to hide that her Master came before the Empire, but for all intents and purposes they were still on opposite sides of the conflict. Her duty was to kill or capture Fulcrum and she was certain Fulcrum had similar orders from her superiors.

“Even if you’re not a jedi, you’re still part of the rebellion. That makes us enemies.”

Yena tried to sound resolute, but Fulcrum saw straight through it.

“So why did you help me? I didn’t ask for it.”

“I’m with her,” she said with the same unconvincing tone. She shut the med pack and clicked its lock in place before turning her eyes on Fulcrum. “She’ll decide if we’re enemies.”

Her smile deteriorated slowly while her eyes found their patient. There was no denying that they both cared for the Second Sister, but whether she felt the same about Fulcrum was a good question. If she didn’t, the togruta was headed into a fight she couldn’t win.

 _My Master will destroy her,_ she knew. Her strength had been sapped by the wound and her powers would suffer for it, but the connection to her ‘friend’ gave her an edge. For all the compassion and strength the togruta exhibited, she was bound by mercy. It was a situation ripe for exploitation and her Master would see it immediately. Surely.

 _She will know what to do,_ she reassured herself as she approached her Master’s bed. Her Master’s head rolled to the side and her dry lips spilled a series of incomprehensible mutterings. Yena touched her Master’s cheek and then her forehead with a shaking hand. She wasn’t sweating any longer but she was still cold. Her cheeks were sunk-in and awfully pale and there was erratic activity under her eyelids. Whether it was nightmares or agony, Yena did not know, but there was nothing she could do about it. She could only watch as her Master lived or died.

“She will be fine,” Fulcrum said yet again. There was nothing convincing about it but for what it was worth, it did help a tad. She didn’t like that the togruta could have such an effect on her just by talking. Was it normal? She didn’t think so.

“I know, she-“

Something was off.

“What’s happening?” Fulcrum asked quickly and rose from her seat. She was by Yena’s side in a matter of seconds – just in time to watch the Second Sister chest go through a series of convulsions. She emitted choked, guttural sounds that were anything but healthy.

_She’s going to die._

Yena couldn’t hear what Fulcrum was saying. She observed as the spasms worsened and the togruta attempted to hold down their patient but she couldn’t think.  Her blood froze as the Second Sister proceeded to shake her head from side to side, her limbs trashing about uncontrollably as if she was fighting back death itself.

 _I have to do something,_ she heard someone say in her mind.

_Check the wound._

She couldn’t reach it but she could see that it hadn’t ripped, not even with all the crazed movement.

_Can she breathe?_

Judging by all the sounds she was making and the ferocity with which she was still fighting the togruta, she had ample air to her lungs.

_Pain. Dull the pain._

She ripped open the medkit, but she didn’t know which medicaments would work and which wouldn’t. Her fingers hovered over each of them as she tried to find anything that looked like painkillers but they came only as pills. There was no way she was going to get her to swallow them. Beside her, the struggle grew louder and the initial soundless shock she had suffered started to wear off. Fulcrum was successful in keeping the patient down and she was whispering in her ear. Her expression was on the verge of desperation and that told Yena that it wasn’t going to work. She _had_ to do something.

_But what?_

The medkit was useless so she threw it away. There was only one thing left she could try and she had never done it before. She had only read about it in the archives but she understood the basic principle behind it and that was good enough. She took a deep breath, trying to bring her breathing under control and trying to recall what she had read.

_Please let this work._

Her hands stopped shaking when she put them unto her Master’s chest. She closed her eyes and concentrated her mind on listening to the echoes in the force. It was a whirlwind of emotions and impressions but she didn’t have any trouble stitching together an image of her Master. When she recalled the benevolence and comfort her Master had shown her so long ago, she felt her Master’s arms around her. They made her feel safe and secure like nothing in the Galaxy could touch her and she was refreshed with newfound fortitude. She focused on those feelings and then began her work.

_Ignore the pain… Reach deeper…_

_Stitch the sinew..._

She thought she heard her name spoken by her Master. She became filled with angst by how grieved the voice sounded. She didn’t know how long she had, but she kept on focusing. There was no way back from this now.

_Bind the flesh._

_Connect the tissue._

When first she read about the technique she thought it impossible. Even though there were examples of successful practice, she found it difficult to understand how a healer could affect veins, flesh and tissue at such a level. How could one even distinguish between what was damaged and what was not? Now, she understood it. She had drawn in the force all around her just like when she was using it to power a strike. The only difference was the purpose she had in mind. She sensed the force guiding her mental focus and she let it, trusting it completely. It was through her emotions that the force told her what to heal and what not to touch and it was unlike anything she had ever gone through. Her feeble angst disappeared and she felt absolutely at peace while the force did its work.

_Heal the damage… Ease the pain…_

She felt her Master easing up and it made it possible for the force to take her even deeper. She touched upon the outer layers of her Master’s mind, unraveling the web of stress, doubt and distrust. With every knot undone it felt like she sank deeper, sensing more and more of her Master’s thoughts and worries. She knew she shouldn’t intrude, but the force was pulling at her. She had the opportunity to mend more than just flesh. Why not take it? This was her Master – was she not willing to do anything in her power to help her?

 _Just a little further,_ she told herself, dismissing the voice in the back of her mind that told her that this wasn’t about saving her Master any longer. Her Master’s thoughts were whispers on the wind and she was nearly able to hear them. If she could understand what she was going through then maybe there was more she could do. Perhaps she could be a better Apprentice… Perhaps she could even make her Master proud.

It was as if she was forgetting something, but she shoved away her pointless premonitions. She was breaking through to the core. She was starting to see something. A picture unfolded before her mental eye, becoming ever clearer until she was there.

The first thing she spotted was light from below.

Red light.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

“It’s time to go.”

Hoss glanced over her shoulder at the Sergeant. She had been rounding the medbay for a while, chatting up troopers and Hoss had nearly forgotten she was there.

“Both of us?” Dreem asked to which Kaeden shook her head.

“No, you need to stay here and recover.”

Hoss looked to Dreem, expecting to hear his opinion but he didn’t say anything. She sighed and accepted that there was no way out of this.

“I’ll be along in a moment,” she said without facing her.

“Make it quick,” Kaeden said and then she was out of the medbay.

“You’re just going to fly,” Dreem reassured her. “No need to be worried, after all, you’re pretty good.”

“Thanks but I’m not worried about flying,” she said and got up from the stool. Dreem was far from the only patient in the medbay and there were talks going on around them. Most of them were discussing the previous mission but there had been no news so far. Nothing save for the new mission.

“Worried about combat then?” Dreem asked.

“I guess… It’s just - … Things are different here.”

“I know,” he replied and sat upright in the bed. He winced a bit but his wounds didn’t seem to hinder him in pulling closer to Hoss. “We’ll figure out what to do later, right now, you need to help where you can. I’ll find Tapham and hopefully he can tell us something about what happened to the others.”

“Okay,” she told him, kind of wishing they had more time. There were a lot of things she wanted to get off her chest. “Get well soon, alright big boy?”

“Don’t do anything stupid,” he replied, his stare telling her that he hadn’t learned to cope with the nickname yet. She smiled at him as a reply though she probably shouldn’t have, but he didn’t have time to berate her before she was out of the medbay.

_Everything will work out._

That she had been requested to join another mission was both a good and a bad thing. On the plus side, they had found out that the jedi had made it out of the starship, but on the negative side, she was the only pilot they had who knew how to fly a lambda-shuttle. She wasn’t sure exactly where they were going or what the plan was, but as long as she was only going to fly, it didn’t matter much.

“There you are,” Kaeden said as Hoss came up to the starboard docking lock. She approached at a walking pace and that was the first time Hoss noticed that the Sergeant had a slight limp. “He’s good?”

“He’ll be fine,” Hoss said and glanced over Kaeden’s shoulder at the open lock. The shuttle had already docked. “So, where we going?”

“I’ll tell you in a moment, but I have to warn you first.”

Her voice was as serious as always but she was looking at Hoss in a strange way.

“Yeah? What’s going on?”

“All’s clear, Sergeant!”

Four troopers came up to where Hoss and Kaeden stood and interrupted them. They were all part of the squad who had assaulted the star destroyer earlier. There had only been time for a few hours of rest before their next mission had been handed to them and it showed.

“The codes are still loaded into the navi-computer,” one of them informed them, wiping the sleep from his eye. “Just like you said they would be.”

Kaeden didn’t smile at the good news.

“And…?” she said expectantly to which the same trooper took a glance all around before sending her a nod.

“Come with me,” Kaeden sighed and looked to Hoss.

 _This can’t be good,_ she predicted and followed through the airlock. Almost immediately, she was struck by a horrible, rotten smell in the air.

“She hasn’t been dead for long,” Kaeden said.

_Oh no._

She covered her mouth with one hand and pinched her nose with two fingers. They approached a figure slumped down in the corner of the cargo hold and the sight made her blood run cold. Combined with the smell she nearly threw up her lunch.

“I’m sorry, but I didn’t want to worry the others. I need you to tell me if it’s-“

“It’s Captain Tikira,” Hoss confirmed, managing to stay composed for now. “What happened? I thought you said they got away.”

“I don’t know,” the rebel Sergeant replied. She crouched before the corpse and started checking the Captain’s belongings. She appeared more or less unharmed save for a massive gash in her stomach. “I spoke with Fulcrum an hour ago but she didn’t mention how this happened.”

Hoss came down next to Kaeden. Tikira’s orange flight-suit was drenched in blood and her skin pale and void of color. Her eyes were closed but her expression was one of terror. Clearly, she had died painfully.

“Damnit,” Kaeden said and held up the square suit control box. It was sliced in half.

“She was … Cut down?” Hoss guessed but she didn’t know what could produce such a clean cut.

“She was,” Kaeden said. “By a _lightsaber_.”

Hoss frowned ponderously.

“Why would a jedi kill her?”

“I don’t think a jedi did,” Kaeden said mysteriously and dropped the box. She motioned for the troopers outside to pick up the corpse and then headed for the cockpit without explanation.

“Hold on,” Hoss said, moving to the cockpit before the door hissed shut behind her. “What are you saying?”

Kaeden didn’t answer her at first; she was busy getting a hold of her holo transmitter.

“Fulcrum,” she called into the transmitter and then she addressed Hoss. “The Empire have some sort of assassins who specialize in hunting down jedi.”

“And they use lightsabers too?” she asked, but it made sense that they would do that. How else would they beat a jedi using one?

There was only static on the other end, but Kaeden was listening intently and gave Hoss a nod as a reply.

“Fulcrum do you hear me?” Kaeden said more firmly. “Come on… Reply!”

She didn’t know what to think of that. Everyone knew that there were bounties on jedi but that the Empire had trained soldiers to take care of them was news to her. They had to be really dangerous.

 “Why is she not responding!?” Kaeden asked no one. She blew out her breath and walked past the two seats and started up the computers, probably in order to use the shuttle’s communication systems, but that was a bad idea.

“We shouldn’t use the coms before we’ve activated the codes,” Hoss said. It didn’t make Kaeden stop so she revised her wording. “They’ll know we’re not Imperials if we do that.”

“I’m not using the coms,” Kaeden replied as her fingers typed in commands. Hoss stood closer and put her hands on the backrest of a seat. She leaned in, staring at the holographic display and understood what Kaeden was doing.

“Don’t you think the memory is wiped?”

“It is,” Kaeden concluded and stood back from the display. “Is there another way to figure out where they went?”

“Not that I know of,” Hoss replied honestly. “Maybe you could get one of the astromechs to take a look?”

“Good idea,” Kaeden replied and reached for the transmitter, but it activated before she could touch it.

_“Tresher One, Commander Talz here.”_

The holo transmitter showed no image of the Commander but the voice was not distorted. It was the voice of a woman and she sounded careful, like she was expecting the worst.

“Tresher One here, I read you.”

_“Is everything in order? I was expecting your report five minutes ago.”_

“We have a problem,” Kaeden responded and moved back from the fore of the cockpit. She leaned against the co-pilot’s seat right next to Hoss. “We recovered the body of the Captain but it looks like she was killed by a lightsaber and Fulcrum isn’t responding to me.”

_“And the shuttle? Is it intact? What about the codes?”_

“Nevermind the shuttle!” Kaeden said briskly. “We need to find out what happened! She could be in danger.”

_“She’s more than capable of defending herself. You need to focus on the mission.”_

“You don’t understand. If the Captain really was killed by a lightsaber, then that means the Empire has sent one of their assassins after them!”

_“One of their assassins?”_

“I don’t know what to call them,” Kaeden said in frustration. “But someone with a lightsaber killed the Captain and if it’s one of them, then Fulcrum is in trouble.”

_“…Hm… I’ve never seen anything like that before, but I’ve heard reports. We’ll do what we can…”_

“But…?” Kaeden said, the atmosphere growing tense.

_“But… We cannot afford to pass up this chance.”_

Hoss knew what it was like to talk to someone who didn’t have the same priorities and she would have reacted much in the same way as Kaeden did, throwing up her hands powerlessly.

“ _The_ Tessarius _is busy investigating the mining moon and has left Forba undefended. We will never get a chance like this again, we_ have _to take it.”_

“Then send someone else! Let me go after Fulcrum.”

_“There’s no time. Move on with the mission and try to re-establish contact with Fulcrum. Report back if anything happens, understand?”_

She looked like she was going to strangle the transmitter but she replied in a sober tone.

“I understand, Commander.”

_“May the force be with you.”_

The transmission cut out and Kaeden sucked in a deep breath. Hoss expected a violent outburst, but the Sergeant deflated.

“It’s probably not as bad as you think,” Hoss said. Two hickory eyes met hers and she realized that she wasn’t the only one who was tired of everything.

“Maybe it isn’t,” Kaeden exhaled. “Maybe it is. Only way we’re going to find out is if we can get a hold of her again. Until then, we carry on with the mission… If you’re still up for it?”

She was surprised she was being asked. She had assumed she had no real choice but when she asked her like this, there was only one answer.

“Of course I will. We’ll go to Forba and hopefully, we’ll make contact somewhere along the way.”

She didn’t feel as confident as she appeared but Kaeden offered her a brief smile and that was good enough.

“You should get acquainted with the controls,” she suggested and pushed herself from the seat. “Did you have anything to eat yet?”

“I’m fine,” she said but all she had had was some sort of blister pack rations which somehow managed to taste worse than dirt.

“Good, I’m going to brief my men and then we’ll be on our way.”

Before she stepped through the cockpit door she stopped and turned around.

“Oh and… I’m sorry, by the way. For your loss.”

She didn’t know what to say but thankfully, Kaeden didn’t wait for a reply. It finally dawned on her that Captain Tikira was dead. _Really_ dead. She was gone. She had never really spoken with the Captain nor had she been enduring one of her tempers. Dreem had told her at length about her cynicism and thinking of that it was morbidly fitting that she had died like this, but she had been an important figure in their cell and she might have been one of the only ones left from it. The thought that they were the last ones left was sad, but there had been more death around her in the past day than there had been in her entire life and she couldn’t figure out how to deal with it. Was she sad? Was she angry? Perhaps she was in shock? She didn’t know. The only thing she knew was that she felt appalled. Even though most of the death had been Imperials, it made no real difference. Trying to justify anything in her head just gave rise to more questions.

 _Take a breather,_ she told herself. _That’s enough contemplation for a day._

Relaxing her muscles, she took in the cockpit and recognized a lot of the layout. It had taken a lot of time to improve the _Anguilli_ and during that process, much of the insides had been exchanged or otherwise modified. She missed her ship and she felt her fingers tingle for a chance to fly something similar and she would. There were no doubts that the steering would be a bit different but just the feel of having the ship in her hands; soaring through the skies like a jai’galaar… It was more important to her than she remembered.

Maybe it was because it helped her forget how gruesome the Galaxy was.

 

* * *

 

 

 

Her body ached.

It felt like she had been sparring non-stop for an entire day and Yena did not appear to fare any better. Her gaze was downcast where it should have been straight ahead when she stood at ease. Perhaps she was trying not to lock eyes with the Inquisitor, which would explain the unease the girl was beaming through the force. Her stance grew tenser under the Inquisitor’s gaze and she guessed there were a lot of questions she was fighting hard to hold back.

_What did she do to her?_

Ahsoka stood opposite Yena, but whereas Yena was shy and uncertain, her counterpart was direct and imposing. She looked quite the veteran with all those bandages scattered about her crossed arms and montrals and it was hard to look at what she had wrought. It was even harder to meet her eyes because it was in those she could see the full extent of her doings and she had no wish to be reminded.

 _She still won’t give in,_ she stated, tearing her gaze away. She finished the head cover, tying down her hair like Barriss would have done long ago. There was still red sand stuck in the fibres which annoyed her, but it was nothing. She had hoped never to wear the clothes again but it was either that or a uniform that had been cut to pieces.

 _She must’ve talked,_ the Inquisitor thought to herself, resting her eyes on Yena again. If they had worked together to escape then Yena had disobeyed her orders. She knew well how convincing Ahsoka could be, especially to someone untrained and insecure so if she had managed to coerce Yena into doing that, then who knows what else she might have done?

“It suits you,” Ahsoka said, breaking the silence. Her voice betrayed that she was spent as too but it seemed she was the better of the three at hiding it. “I gotta say I’m surprised you kept it.”

She blinked twice and thought about it but couldn’t think of an answer before Ahsoka went on.

“You were right about the force.”

The Inquisitor frowned and thought back to what she had seen in her own visions. She couldn’t help but send a glance at Yena, just to make sure she was still… there.

”Our bond is strong – even after years apart, it hasn’t diminished.”

The Inquisitor felt resentment build within. She knew that their connection was powerful in the sense that they had more insight into each other than should be possible, but that connection had been established between Barriss and Ahsoka. _Not_ her.

“You should have beaten me,” Ahsoka said, her arms uncrossing as she made gestures with her hands. “You always were stronger than me, but you couldn’t. You know why, don’t you?”

 _Barriss,_ she hissed internally but she knew what Ahsoka was referring to. She had lost control just like the last time and attempted to do something she had not planned. She looked down, biting into her lip and noticed that her fingers were trying to dig their way through her hands.

“I saw what happened to you on the ship,” she said and at that point the Inquisitor had to look into the icy glaciers to know if what she said was the truth. “I felt it, I even heard it. Why did you come after me when you knew you couldn’t control it?”

She tried to mold her hate into a furious retort, but no words exited her lips. Instead, she glanced aside like Barriss would have done. Like a coward.

“You could dispel it in a moment if you wanted to and you know that. Why do you let the Empire do this to you?”

The crimson light came from the planet outside but just for a second it seemed to originate from the tiles in the floor. Cold sweat ran down her back and a chill made her flinch awkwardly.

“Why are you _afraid_?”

“She _betrayed_ you!” the Inquisitor blurted out and forced herself to meet Ahsoka’s eyes. Her throat tightened with emotions she shouldn’t be able to feel and it made her voice croaky.

“She framed you!” the Inquisitor continued as Ahsoka made no reply. All she did was stand there and listen while the glaciers in her eyes melted. “Why- … _How?_ She was a monster! How could you possibly want her _back_?”

She wouldn’t look away nor would she say anything. Out of the corner of her eye, the Inquisitor saw that Yena had mustered up the courage to look at her.

“Answer me Ahsoka!” she demanded, rising before her taller friend. She took her arm by the wrist as to force her to do _something_ and she did. She placed a hand on the Inquisitor’s shoulder and it felt heavy.

“What you did was wrong,” she said, matching the level of emotion in her voice to the Inquisitor’s. It wasn’t unexpected, but it still electrified the Inquisitor’s heart. “I- … I never felt more forsaken in my life and I made the same mistake everyone else made. I looked at you and saw the culprit. I blamed you when in truth, I should have blamed the darkness you were trying to warn everyone about.”

She wasn’t sure what exactly Ahsoka was trying to do, but it was true. If only someone had listened, if only–

_If only Barriss hadn’t been so weak. If only you had talked to someone, you despicable fool._

“I know you’ve done terrible things and I can never forget what you did to me, but I moved on. You have to move on as well and face who you are. If you keep living in fear then the Empire will win. The darkness you sacrificed everything to stop will win.”

“Everything has always been so clear to you,” she said with toxic scorn, rolling her shoulder free of Ahsoka’s hand. “The dark side is bad, the light side is good... Just like your Master, you think you know it all without a care for what you don’t know – and you _don’t_ know the dark side.”

“No… But _she_ does,” Ahsoka said and gestured towards Yena. The Inquisitor let go of Ahsoka’s arm and turned. She was curious as to what the two of them had planned, but she frowned with contempt at the knowledge that they had teamed up against her.

“Go on,” Ahsoka said, urging Yena to talk.

“I’m sorry,” she started off, evidently trying to appear as if she hadn’t had a choice but the Inquisitor didn’t believe that. “But I have to know.”

“Know _what_?” the Inquisitor inquired, watching as Yena’s disciplined stance crumbled.

“I didn’t know what I was doing,” she rambled on, her eyes flickering between everything in the room and the Inquisitor’s eyes. “I just -… I meditated and it worked.”

“What worked?” she asked, moving closer to Yena in order to better hear her lowering voice. “What are you trying to say, Yena?”

“She saved your life,” Ahsoka said. Faintly, she remembered that she had been struck down. “She’s a healer like you, Barriss.”

“That’s not possible,” she said whilst the memory of her defeat flashed past her eyes. The blow had been fatal and she should have died yet she had not. She hadn’t even begun to wonder how that could be, but she couldn’t believe that Yena had been the solution. It was just not feasible. “You’ve never had any training. Don’t lie to me.”

“The force was with me,” she replied vaguely yet the Inquisitor knew what she meant. Yena wasn’t certain of it herself but she appeared confident enough in her reply that the Inquisitor gave her the benefit of the doubt.

“Healing is a jedi ability,” she said, trying to bring _some_ argument on the table but her voice carried more wonder than anger now. “You’re an Inquisitor.”

“I think that perhaps in the moment, while I was mending you, I wasn’t an Inquisitor.”

She had stopped riveting her eyes around nervously and instead, her gaze was placed firmly on the Inquisitor but it didn’t stay there. It swept across the Inquisitor’s face.

“I think that maybe, when you saved my life… Maybe you weren’t an Inquisitor either.”

“Wh- … What?” the Inquisitor sputtered, taken by surprise. Her head became heavy all of the sudden and she felt isolated as both Ahsoka and Yena looked her over. Ahsoka knew the tattoos Barriss had earned, but there was no way Yena could know of them, yet somehow she was looking at them. When her gaze went downwards, she knew that Yena was looking at her hands too.

 _No. I’m seeing things,_ she declared, her hands clenching harder and causing the dark leather to creak under the pressure.

“An Inquisitor would have reported the sighting of a jedi,” she went on. “But you didn’t.”

She shot a glance at Ahsoka and judging by her expression, this was something Yena had already told her.

“Yet at the same time, you went on a suicidal charge just like an Inquisitor would have done.”

“Stop!” she said but her voice wavered. There was a clacking sound like beetles crawling from the corners of the room and her eyes darted around to find them, but there were none to be found.

“I’m so sorry,” Yena said with a choked voice. “But I have to know. Please tell me the truth.”

The Inquisitor sucked in a breath, realizing what Yena was going to ask.

“Was it all lies?”

She would have preferred a dagger in her guts than to have Yena throw such a question at her. She didn’t want to think about it, she wanted to give her the answer that was right at the tip of her tongue, but she couldn’t. She was an Inquisitor, she was the Second Sister, yet if she was, then what had caused her to save the girl? Why had she wished her to survive? Why had she stopped recruiting after sending Yena to Mustafar?

The skittering of insects grew louder and she knew what was going to happen if she did nothing. She looked into Yena’s eyes and for an instant she saw herself. She knew what it felt like to doubt ones whole existence; to doubt whether any of the horrible crimes she had committed actually mattered. She had been through that more times than just at the bombing of the temple. She had lived in guilt every single day of the Clone Wars and she would have given everything to have had Master Luminara tell her that it all _mattered._ That whatever crimes she committed, she had done them for the greater good but she had refused to do so right up until the end. She could only guess at what Master Luminara had used to justify her own actions and why she had never shared it with her.

 _No… No that was Barriss,_ she broke in. _That wasn’t me. It’s not me._

“Master?” Yena asked in the smallest of voices and edged closer. Her arms were hanging by her sides and her fingers twitching with uneasiness. She looked young and scared and the Inquisitor felt an urge to open her arms and rectify that. She wanted to expand her heart and safeguard the girl but she knew that she couldn’t do that if she was the Inquisitor she had always told herself she was. Instead, she was going to have to watch the spark of hope in Yena’s green eyes die. She was going to listen to her desperate cries and feel the innocent soul she had tried to save be destroyed. The mirialan girl who reminded her of herself; the girl who had followed her, believed in her and risked her life for her would be devastated and consumed by hatred. She would die and the Inquisitor knew she couldn’t deal with that again.

She took a deep breath and then she did the only thing that felt right.

She opened her arms.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 _“_ _Shuttle S-157, please transmit clearance codes.”_

Their flight had been without complications and she had enjoyed being able to lean back and just _fly._ The voice of the Imperial flight controller, however, sent her right back into the real world.

“Transmitting now,” she replied and surveyed the world outside.

The planet of Forba was small enough that most people would have referred to it as a moon. It looked hospitable from outer space with a cloudy white atmosphere and the bits of land that were visible through the cloud cover were green. It also had two suns which were situated so that the moon never really was in darkness. That was probably why the Empire had chosen it as a farming planet.

_“Shuttle S-157, you’re cleared to land. We’ll take it from here.”_

Diodes flashed warnings on the instrumentation and Hoss let go of the stick to allow the Imperial flight controller to assume remote control of the shuttle. It took a second or two before the ship started veering to the side and the stick moved entirely on its own.

“How did you know they were going to do that?” Kaeden asked from the side.

“The Republic did the same,” Hoss replied and leaned back in the seat. Her new clothes were a bit too tight and she hadn’t been able to have  _Shilka_ holstered by her side, but it was within reach should it be necessary. It just felt wrong not to have it by her fingers all the time.

“So you were a Republic pilot then?” Kaeden asked. She was adjusting the blouse of her Imperial uniform which seemed to be ill-fitting but she hadn’t had any problems with her hair. Hoss had no idea how she had managed to tie all those curls up into a ponytail, but she had.

“Well, not exactly,” she admitted. “What did you do before this?” she asked in order not to draw too much attention to her criminal past.

“Farming. As did most of the people with us actually.”

“Oh…” Hoss said. She wasn’t that surprised; it was a good explanation for their more aggressive behavior. She understood why liberated farmers would have it in for the Empire. The miners probably felt the same way.

“You ready back there?” Kaeden called over her shoulder. There were four troopers dressed up as stormtroopers in the hold and one of them replied with a positive. When they entered the cloud cover and lost all visibility, Hoss heard their blaster rifles cocking.

“Don’t worry,” Kaeden said in comforting tone of voice. “You’ll be fine. Nobody’s going to notice anything.”

“I know, I know,” she said quickly. She didn’t think she looked nervous but staring into a completely cloud-gray world outside probably gave it away.

“It’s just that it’s my second mission without Dreem.”

“He’ll be fine,” Kaeden reassured her. She was fiddling with her own blaster and checking the ammunition.

 _That’s not the issue,_ she sighed internally, but to Kaeden she smiled as convincingly as she could. Her worries weren’t welcome now. She had to focus and if the Sergeant thought Hoss couldn’t keep up then that might jeopardize the mission. Even though she didn’t want the mission, she didn’t want to ruin it either.

They broke through the cloud cover and were met by the sight of a landing pad hovering in mid air. It was approaching at landing speed and below it, fields filled with workers and some sort of vegetation stretched out as far the eye could see. There were massive moving machinery spread out along permanent lanes either harvesting, flinging moisture or something third and amongst them were workers.

 _Slaves,_ she corrected herself. _They’re slaves._ She wasn’t going to forget the reason why they were there in the first place. Freeing slaves was a good thing, but it was going to include a lot of fighting. She shivered by the thought and even though they had done a good job at cleaning up the shuttle, she hadn’t gotten the smell of Tikira out of her nostrils yet.

“Remember, if things start going south we’re going to need you to get out of here.”

“They’re going to know that something is wrong if I keep the engines running,” Hoss replied. “But I’ll do what I can.”

“That’s all I ask,” Kaeden said and adjusted her cap. “How do I look?”

Hoss took scanned her up and down. The Sergeant had been disguised in an Imperial uniform with two red and two blue squares on her jet-black blouse. She had two cylinders, one on each side of her chest too, whatever they were for.

“You look like an Imperial specialist,” she said neutrally and Kaeden took it with a nod. The shuttle touched down gently and then Kaeden signaled for Hoss to lower the ramp.

“Alright this is it! Stick to the plan and _nobody_ fires a shot until I say so, got it?”

“Yes ma’am,” one of them said. There was a disproportionate amount of beard on his chin compared to the rest of the troopers but his youth was well-disguised when they pulled on their helmets.

“If there’s any reply,” Kaeden said to Hoss, “try and figure out what happened.”

Hoss nodded and Kaeden gave her shoulder a reassuring pat before moving outside in the centre of a formation of disguised troopers. And then everything was out of Hoss’ hands.

She started the normal shutdown procedure, though she kept as many systems online as she could get away with. As she flipped switches high and low, she saw the party being met by an Imperial officer and his escort outside on the landing pad. She held her breath as they talked, but exhaled when everything seemed to be in order. They entered a turbo lift and disappeared down a long tube reaching all the way to the surface. The only people left on the landing pad were some ground crew and what Hoss guessed was an inventory keeper. She was dressed like the others with the black uniforms though she didn’t have the bulky utility pack strapped to her chest like the rest. She had a data pad in her hands and seemed to be running through its contents.

 _They’re just ordinary people,_ Hoss caught herself thinking and before she could stop herself, she was watching them go about their business. A pair was having a break and stood with their visors pulled up. She could see the smile of a woman and she was clearly laughing at what the other had said. On the other side of the shuttle, two crewmen were applying some sort of coating to a collection of antennas. They had no idea that this day wasn’t going to be like every other. They probably just wanted to get their work done so they could go home to their families. It was hard to think of them as the evil Imperial soldiers who had wronged her. It was even harder to believe that they _wanted_ to harm her.

“Hey you!”

Hoss nearly jumped out of her seat.

“Ye- Yes?” she said and started getting up. Her hand had gone to her side automatically and it was a good thing _Shilka_ wasn’t there.

“No, no stay in your seat,” the inventory keeper said. She was a blond-haired, brown-eyed woman and pretty tall. Elegant in some way and her voice matched it. She sounded a bit like Adder, but she spoke much more clearly. Hoss did as she was told but she was powerless to stop the woman as she moved up and took the seat next to her.

“Didn’t mean to scare you,” she said and it took a moment for Hoss to register that it was meant as an apology.

“Oh … No problem, I was just drifting away.”

“Did you have a long flight?” she asked and started hooking up her data pad to the shuttle systems. Their travel information had been spoofed so she wouldn’t be able to tell where they had come from, but it was unlikely that was what she was looking for. She was probably just checking the stock or some other standard procedure.

“Not that long,” she said casually and strapped herself in again. She kept an eye on the outside just in case, but everything seemed to be fine. _Shilka_ was still within reach if the woman suspected anything.

“Well this place is far from anywhere, there’s hardly any flight here that isn’t long.”

“Well I’m a fast pilot,” she said with wry smirk. The woman finished connecting the data pad and eyed Hoss over. She let out a fairly unimpressed pout but smiled nonetheless. Her eyes went back to the data pad but apparently there was nothing of interest and she packed it away again.

“That’s good because you’ll be taking me to the _Tessarius.”_

_Uh oh._

“But - … I have orders to wait here. I can’t just leave.”

“You are scheduled for departure in six hours. Travelling to the _Tessarius_ and back will be a few hours at best; you have nothing to worry about.”

Whatever protests she could think of stifled when she heard the sound of heavy boots on the ramp behind her. She leaned out of the seat and glanced into the hold, watching as a team of technicians took up the entire cargo hold with themselves and their equipment. She couldn’t fight her way out of there, but she could perhaps stall the flight for a time.

_They’ll just use another pilot._

And they would probably execute her. She didn’t really have a choice but to do as she was told.

“Alright,” she said, trying to keep the nervousness out of her voice. She felt sweat run down her arms into her armpits as she lifted her hands to reach the switches in the instrumentation above. She started the take-off sequence slowly and thought of a question. “Can I tell my superior where I’m going before we leave?”

“No need, I’ve already asked ground control to inform them. Set your course for the Mieru’kar sector. ”

She typed the name into the navi-computer and watched as it calculated a route. It was faster than the navi-computer she had owned on the _Anguili_ and it was done within seconds. She’d have time to think of a plan when they hit hyperspace, for now, she fired up the sublight engines, pulled up the ramp and took the shuttle off the landing pad.

The inventory keeper locked the door to the cockpit in open position and started a headcount. It was probably some dumb protocol and Hoss paid it no mind.

“Is it really as bad as they say it is?” one of the technicians asked. Hoss was focusing on getting the shuttle unto the correct depart vector, but she picked up the wonder in his voice. It wasn’t a youthful budding; he sounded middle-aged and experienced like Dreem, but there was a measure of disbelief in his words.

“Yeah, it is,” a coarse female voice replied. “The timing was almost too good. Someone must have tipped off the raiders.”

 _They must be the clean-up crew,_ Hoss concluded. She got the shuttle out of the atmosphere and then aligned it with the first hyperspace jump. From there, she let the navi-computer take over and started putting up her feet but stopped when she remembered that she was an Imperial pilot.

“The 27th say it’s a mess,” a third joined in. Upon hearing his words, the woman next to Hoss turned in her seat to pay attention to their conversation but Hoss kept her eyes forwards. “They haven’t found anyone alive yet.”

_They all died?_

No one had told her the extent of the destruction on the moon, but it was hard to believe the rebels would kill everyone. Not a chance.

“I don’t understand… “ the first said. “What could they possibly gain from that place? They’re going to build star destroyers?”

Hoss quirked a brow.

_Star destroyers?_

“Don’t know,” the female responded. “They just killed everyone who fought back and dragged the rest back home as slaves I guess. I just don’t understand why they shot down the prisoner transports.”

That had to be rumors. They would never have done something like that but if they thought it had been simple raiders then all the better for her.

“Maybe they were Separatist droids,” the woman next to Hoss said. “There’s been a few unusual assaults by Separatist pockets. They gunned down everyone and everything for seemingly no reason.”

The team of technicians looked her way and let out a collective mumble. It wasn’t entirely unreasonable. Hoss had heard of droids with their capital ships annihilating people unfortunate enough to get in their way though it was rare.

“It’s not going to be pretty if that’s the case,” one of them said and that left a dreary silence. It was broken by Hoss’ transmitter going off.

_“Cayleen Hoss. Respond.”_

Her cheeks went cold as ice and she spurred into action, clawing at the transmitter to mute it on her belt but it was too late. Everyone was looking at her.

“What is that?” the inventory keeper asked and turned in her chair staring at her.

“It-… It’s-“ she stuttered but what was she going to say? The technicians in the back crept closer and the inventory keeper’s brown eyes narrowed more and more.

_“Hoss? Respond!”_

“Go on,” she said dangerously. “Respond to them.”

Swallowing, she took a glance all around at the skeptical faces in the cockpit and tried not to imagine what could happen if this went wrong.

“This is- … This is Hoss. I read you.”

_“What took you so long?”_

“I -… I had to depart,” she said, staring back at the inventory keeper. She forced her voice to sound composed. “I’m transporting a team of technicians to ORT45M”

_“You’re supposed to be on Forba! Who authorized this?”_

“I did,” the inventory keeper said, stepping closer to the transmitter.

_“Who’s that? Turn on the holo display.”_

Hoss did as she was told and leaned closer to the Imperial so they could both fit in the transmitted picture.

_“An Imperial Administer?”_

“Yes,” the Administer said and took away the transmitter from Hoss. “And who are you? This is highly irregular!”

The technicians filled up the cockpit and stared from the transmitter to Hoss with curiosity. There was static on the other end for a few seconds before an image came up.

_What in the -_

_“You are testing my patience, Administer.”_

“I-Inquisitor!” the Administer said in bafflement but she wasn’t the only one who was surprised.

_Who the hell is that?_

The person in the holo image was wearing an Imperial uniform she had never seen before. A dark body glove with shoulder pads carrying the white cog of the Empire. She had a helmet on but the visor was up, allowing her malice to be fully expressed in her face. And her eyes… It felt like they were staring at them all and right through them. Just like when Adder had looked her over, she felt a chill run down her spine.

“I- .. I didn’t know. I apologize, Inquisitor.”

 _“Apology accepted,”_ the Inquisitor said quickly. _“Leave me alone with the pilot.”_

“As you wish,” the Administer said and rose from the seat. The technicians took the hint and started exiting the cockpit, all of them sending Hoss curious – no, _fearful_ glances. She sat there in trepidation as the Administer shut the door behind her and the Inquisitor’s transmitted face turned to her.

_“Wait.”_

“A-alright,” she said carefully and watched the image change and instead of the Inquisitor, Adder’s face appeared.

_“I’m sending you new coordinates. Standby.”_

“A-adder? What’s going on? Who was that?”

_“Did you hear what I said?”_

She shook her head to get past the confusion and set up a link to the navi-computer so that the coordinates could be inserted directly.

“I heard you but who’s that? What is happening?”

_“It’ll be easier to explain in person. Establish contact as soon as you make it out of hyperspace.”_

“Wait! What about-“

The link terminated and she was left in utter silence and bewilderment. It sounded as if Adder was in a hurry so perhaps there was something to what Kaeden had said. But what was an Inquisitor?

It was clearly an Imperial of some rank to make the Administer act like she did, but that didn’t explain why everyone had gotten so fearful. Perhaps they had felt the same way as Hoss did, but instead of guessing, she decided she might as well ask.

“Administer?” she called and waited. The door opened and the Administer entered, making sure the door was closed behind her. Her stare was completely different this time.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were working for the Imperial Inquisitorius?”

“They don’t tell me anything,” she said honestly and she didn’t have to fake the frustration. “Why was everyone scared?”

“Are you not?” the Administer asked, taking up the seat next to Hoss.

“I’m just a pilot,” she said and looked to her controls. Their destination was coming up soon. “And I’m good at what I do.”

“You’ve met this Inquisitor, haven’t you?”

Hoss blinked and looked at the reflection of the Administer in the cockpit glass.

“Well… Well no, not really.”

“You’ll be scared too when you do.”

They burst into real space close enough to the _Tessarius_ that the stardestroyer took up the entire view. The Administer said no more to Hoss and instead turned to get her crew ready but Hoss didn’t hear what was said. She steered the shuttle unto a proper course like a droid, her thoughts all converging on Adder. Why was she working with someone like an Inquisitor? The obvious answer was that they were both undercover but it didn’t seem like that was the whole truth. She had always felt like Adder wasn’t telling them everything, but perhaps it was because she was trying to cover for another jedi? It would make sense if the Inquisitor was a jedi too; she certainly felt the same way about them but none of what Dreem had told her about the jedi fit on the Inquisitor. She was practically the opposite.

She touched down gently in the landing bay, lowered the ramp for the crew to get off and then brought up the new coordinates. Kaeden could call her any moment, asking for emergency pick-up but she wanted to know what had happened too. She would have told her to follow Adder’s instructions.

So she did.

 

* * *

* * *

 

 

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still alive.
> 
> I haven't said this enough - Thank you to everyone who has shown support for this work.
> 
> Here's chapter seven.

 

* * *

* * *

 

 

 

“I assume you’ve made the necessary preparations?”

“Precisely as you instructed, Master.”

She eyed Yena’s taut stance, looking for anything that wasn’t as it should be even though she had already checked twice.

_My life is in her hands,_ she mused but if anything, she felt secure. She knew Yena would rather die than fail her.

“Go,” she said before she found another way to waste time. “And do _not_ lose control.”

“Yes Master,” the mirialan Inquisitor said shortly and then bowed. She reminded her far too much of herself and she had no need to turn around to see that there was a knowing smile on Ahsoka’s face.

“You know,” Ahsoka threw in as Yena entered the docked Advanced TIE-fighter. “She rem–“

“Don’t say it,” she sneered, keeping her eyes forwards. The dam she had built around the roiling sea of emotions within her had cracked and one second she felt worried and the other she felt regret. Every time Ahsoka said anything, it was something third.

_I’ll find a way to mend this,_ she promised the saboteur. _If you think she can save you, you’ve gone mad._

The circular shape of the TIE-fighter gleamed red in the shine of the planet and the Inquisitor felt a memory sneak up on her.

_I’m not in the mood Barriss._

The fighter detached and started aligning itself towards its jump coordinates. A few seconds later, it was gone.

“Let’s go.”

Ahsoka led the way towards their ride. The togruta had been in an annoying mood ever since the Inquisitor had thrown in with her – or rather been _forced_ to. The knot that would not untie was back in her chest and she was starting to understand what it was. Instead of bringing justice to the brainwashed jedi by slaughtering them all, she was now helping their ideological followers spread the disease they called ‘hope’. It was appalling, but Ahsoka had her cornered. She had her locked up in a much worse prison than the physical one she had hoped to throw Ahsoka into and the irony was not lost on her.

“There you are,” Hoss said once they showed up in the hangar. There would have been a near pitch black darkness if not for the shuttle’s lights.

“Are you going to study more recordings or are we finally getting out of this depressing place?”

“We’re going,” Ahsoka said, refusing to argue the Inquisitor’s decision again. She had kept the recordings of Ahsoka’s doings through the stardestroyer and she had asked Yena to study them. Ahsoka had insisted she could accurately explain what she had done, but knowing Ahsoka and how thorough her plans usually were, it was better to be on the safe side.

“I’ll fire up the engines,” Hoss said, already on her way up the ramp. “Do we have new coordinates or are they still the same?”

“The same,” Ahsoka replied. “The others should be in position by the time we get there.”

The ramp closed up with a hiss of steam and the ship’s sublight thrusters brought it out of the hangar. There was a small and cramped living compartment on the shuttle but she preferred the barren deck of the cargo hold to that.

“Aren’t you going to lie down?” Ahsoka asked half-way through the door connecting the compartments, sounding like she needed to herself.

“I’ll be fine here,” she said and seated herself cross-legged in the middle with lots of space on all sides. “Go to sleep.”

Ahsoka’s tired eyes kept her captive a moment longer before she nodded and stifled a yawn.

“Wake me the moment we exit hyperspace. We’ll have to start the ball.”

Nodding, she closed her eyes and placed a hand on either knee. Meditation worked better than sleep sometimes but she had her doubts as to if she was able to pull it off again. She was still going to try, however.

_There is no emotion, only –_

_Shut up._

Clenching her teeth, she forced out the pensive words Barriss tried to lure her with. The shuttle’s movements were uneven while it aligned itself but once it had entered hyperspace, the flight was smooth and she was able to blot out the sounds both within and without. Only the low vibration of the engines permeated her body but it was a soothing, gentle feel and she let it guide her into a steady breathing and then to a balanced state of mind.

_There is no chaos, there is –_

Uncontrollable fury gripped her and she hissed through her teeth whilst reaching for an outlet. A metal panel flew from the wall and crumbled like a piece of paper before her and then she fell forwards, narrowly getting her hands up to stop her head smashing into the deck.

Then she could breathe again.

_Why won’t you die?_

It felt like every muscle in her body had expended its last and her arms gave in. She lay flat on her chest and felt the hard surface of the deck with every breath.

_Why can’t you see that you can never win?_

Darkness crept in around her even though her eyes were wide open, but she welcomed it. Not even the macabre chittering of insects crawling towards her was enough to induce terror.

_Have you forgotten what I can do to you?_

She had only to make a simple transmission; a single message to Yena and everything could change. She could capture or destroy all of the rebel ships. She could catch Ahsoka and everyone dear to her. She could have everything she needed in order to eradicate every last trace of the mirialan jedi she hated more than anything in the Galaxy.

And it would be painless.

Except it wouldn’t.

She saw Yena before her and listened again to her trembling words. In the span of a second, all of her plans and all of her ideas were crushed. She scarcely noticed that the chittering faded, the only thing on her mind was the Apprentice she had neglected and the fate she had chosen for her.

_You chose for her,_ she reminded Barriss, not content to let the traitor ever forget what horrors she had doomed the girl to endure.

_You knew exactly what she had to go through._

The suffering she sensed in Barriss gave her the strength to get back up and she regretted her decision to stay in the cargo hold. Stumbling along, she made her way towards the living compartment and let herself fall into a seat. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Ahsoka collapsed on a bunk already fast asleep.

_I will remind you why I am still in control._

Her heavy eyelids came down.

_Ahsoka won’t be able to save you._

Sleep came quickly.

And so did the nightmares.

 

 

* * *

 

“Another burned circuit?”

The technician before him continued staring at the screen as the maintenance log unfolded itself before him. He didn’t say a word until the text had ceased scrolling.

“That seems to be the case, Sir.”

That was the third time in one week they had lost an entire computer rack to some error in the coolant system. If they couldn’t fix the problem soon, they’d run out of spare parts and the entire processing area could be lost.

_Along with my career._

He took off his cap and wiped his forehead. The temperature in the room was high due to the hundreds of computers that were never switched off and the scent of heated plastics was thick in the air. From the maintenance terminal he was able to stare across a couple of walkways above the main floor where all the racks were laid out in neat lines. His technicians shuffled about, doing their routine checks while others were conducting actual repairs. Everything seemed to be proceeding smoothly – apart from the defect of course.

“Looks like targeting sector G-12 will be down for at least a day, Sir.”

Placing the cap back on his head, he turned his attention back to the terminal and the technician.

“G-12? Where is that?”

The technician glanced over his shoulder and threw up his hands.

“I don’t know, these damn sectors change every day I can’t even –“

“That’s enough,” he said as calmly as he could to which the technician immediately deflated. “I’m as frustrated as you are, but there’s no stopping the expansion. We’ll just have to cope.”

“Yes Sir,” he replied and reluctantly turned back to his work. It was bad that the technician didn’t know the sector but even worse that he as an officer didn’t know it either. The rapid growth of the farming operations spurred on by the Minister had stretched their forces to the point where they couldn’t cover the entire facility with turbolasers any longer. Only the most important nodes in the giant, hexagonal web of farms and fences had cover from the skies and even then, it was difficult to maintain the systems. Almost all of his men had been pulled off their primary task to do secondary or even tertiary duties.

“Sir?”

He was staring a hole in the back of the technician.

“Right.  Make the repairs. I’ll inform the Minister.”

Embarrassed, he turned quickly before it became too obvious. It was a short walk back to the main entrance to the processing area, but the steps felt long and arduous. He knew what Minister Vettra expected of him and he was starting to doubt that he could continue to keep the defenses operational at all times. With the recent catastrophe on ORT45M, any slight was too much to be overlooked.

Reaching the two-part door that made up the main entrance, he reached for the panel next to it. Before he could touch it though, it flashed green.

_This is_ not _what we need right now._

Clutching his hands behind his back, he watched impatiently as the doors cranked open. The entrance was large enough to allow computer racks on wagons to pass through and thus it took a while, enabling him some time to observe the party on the other side. Four troopers stood in a square formation, two of them carrying satchels. In the center was a Specialist he had never seen before. Dark-skinned, dark-haired and with hickory eyes, she walked straight at him the moment the doors were completely open.

“Madam,” he addressed her, assuming this was a surprise inspection. “I’m Lieutenant Dukarr.”

She had a limp to her gait and as she halted about two steps in front of him, the troopers marched on completely out of tact. Stranger yet though was the blaster on the Specialist’s belt and her communications device. They were both of a design he hadn’t seen before.

“This is an inspection,” she confirmed. “You and your men will be required to leave. Now.”

Taken aback by the severity of her tone, he nearly took a step backwards.

“My men are in the middle of a crucial repair,” he said swiftly. “Is the inspection _that_ important?”

“It is,” she said and glanced over his shoulder. He followed her gaze and saw the four troopers moving along the walk-ways extending above the rows of computer racks. Those with satchels were throwing down small, round objects every few steps, right next to his technicians in the pit.

“What sort of inspection is this exactly?” he asked before turning to regard her again.

“Your last.”

He didn’t understand.

But his instincts did.

“Son of a – “

His elbow cut-off her outcry while he pulled at the hand holding the blaster with both his. Several shots echoed throughout the area before she lost grip and the blaster was his. A knee to her stomach sent her flailing to the deck on her side and finishing her would’ve been the easiest thing in the world, but there was only one thing on his mind.

_My men._

The troopers were emptying their clips into the pit below, slaughtering his men like fish in a barrel but their backs were turned. With hands that felt like they had been roasted and a panic in the back of his mind, screaming at him to run, he took aim and fired.

A shower of sparks rose from the chest of the first, his body collapsing like a puppet with its strings cut.

The second threw himself to the deck screaming; a black, sooty spot in his stomach.

He didn’t get to take a shot at the third.

Nauseating pain erupted from his groin and then the world spun until a shockwave through his entire body stopped it abruptly. Breathing was near impossible and everything was upside down but he saw the blaster exchange hands and knew what doing nothing meant for him.

Rolling aside, he struck her legs and used his weight to pull her down. In the tangle of limbs, the blaster flew from her hands but he ignored it, throwing a flurry of blows against her skull until she raised her arms to parry. Then, he looked for the weapon and found it – just in time to see two troopers running towards him. They weren’t shooting, probably out of fear of hitting the Specialist.

That was a mistake.

_“No!”_

He heard cries of agony moments before being wrenched aside and _thrown_ along the deck. The hard surface tore through his uniform and added more voices to the choir of injuries screaming for his attention. Trying to push himself back up was like trying to fight back a vibrohammer against his chest, but he didn’t get to be left alone. A hand took his blouse and a second later, a thumping pain went through his skull.

He roared in agony, the taste of iron prevalent in his mouth but he couldn’t see where the strikes where coming from. In desperation, he started firing the blaster and at some point, the blows stopped coming and she let go. Mustering the remainder of his strength, he got to his feet before she could get her hands on him again.

“Surrender!” he hissed, his breathing fast and painful. Someone was screaming for help in the background but he couldn’t afford taking his focus away from her. She was glaring at him, her eyes glowing with fury. Blood trickled from her lips as they split into a mean sneer and he expected her to lash out at him with some final insult, but she didn’t.

“ _You_ should surrender,” she talked him back though she was the one with her arms raised. She did sound very sure of herself, but he didn’t spot any reason as to why that would be. Her black uniform was dusty from all the contact with the deck and her dark hair was a curly, soaked mess. She had to be as trashed as he was.

“Why?” he asked, daring a glance towards the walkways as she articulated a response. Of the four troopers, only one moved but he was clutching his stomach and screaming. It was just a matter of time before he was dead too.

“Because you’re outnumbered and outgunned.”

“What are you talking about?” he asked quickly, more concerned than he should be. He played back everything that had just occurred in his mind, looking for anything that proved her words.

“I think you know what I mean,” she said knowingly and turned one of her hands.

_A detonator._

_They were explosives._

“Don’t!” he said, aware that fear had seeped into his voice. “You’re defeated! What’s the point?”

“What’s the point?” she repeated, her thumb stroking the activation button. Her eyes never left his and he didn’t like what he was seeing in hers.

“The Empire’s slave operation on Forba is over.”

“You’re the ones who raided ORT45M,” he said as it dawned upon him.

“ _Liberated_ ,” she corrected him.

“Liberated? You killed everyone!”

“ _You_ did that!” she shouted, pointing the detonator at him accusingly. “We tried to set them free, but you’d rather see innocents die than have their freedom!”

“They weren’t innocents!” he gave back, matching her tone. He sent a glance towards the trooper on the deck who had grown silent as he tried to make sense of things.

“These are prisoners! Criminals of the worst kind only fit to –“

“They’re ordinary people!” the Specialist broke in. She looked utterly convinced of her own delusions and it left him with more doubt than he wanted to admit. She grimaced and made to explain, but it was her turn to be interrupted.

_They’re attacking the planet?_

The klaxons proved that _someone_ was attacking, but he was too perplexed by everything to believe it. At the same time, the coms device on the Specialists’ belt beeped insistently.

“You think blowing up a couple of computers will end everything?” he asked, more to stall than out of actual curiosity. He had to believe that someone had heard the shots.

Her eyes went to the coms device for a split second as the beeping turned into a voice.

_“Tresher One this is Fulcrum! Blow the charges! NOW!”_

He stared at her, his mind racing to find something to say. Her thumb stroked the button carefully and her eyes searched the area. She was hesitating.

_“Kaeden!? What’s happening?”_

“I’m sorry,” ‘Kaeden’ said but not to him.

“I can’t make it out.”

He raised his blaster.

_“What? Kaeden wai-“_

But he wasn’t fast enough.

 

 

* * *

 

_“Launch!”_

The sublight engines ignited with a thunderous crash and the shuttle was propelled forwards like a rocket. Ahead of him were at least a dozen similar shuttles or ‘flying boxes’ as he’d taken to calling them; all of them descending towards the cloudy atmosphere of Forba like meteors.

_I’m coming,_ he thought but he wasn’t sure who or what he was coming for. Captain Tikira was dead, Tapham was dying and Hoss was down there somewhere, fighting the battle without him.

_I shouldn’t have let her go alone,_ he hit himself mentally, tightening his hold on the stick. It brought him pain but he didn’t care; he deserved it for being a fool.

_“Lock x-foils in attack position-... – squ- … -n.. cover bomber formation charl-…. def-… -nd..”_

The short-range coms degraded into nothing but static but he didn’t dare take his hands off the stick to turn it off.

“You got it?!”

Lieutenant Forte held onto the back of Dreem’s seat and had to shout to be heard. The shuttle rattled like they were speeding over rugged terrain and the noise was immense.

“Barely Sir!” he shouted back. “You tried maneuvering this thing? Any of those TIE’s get a lock on us, you better pray.”

He received a pat on the shoulder, much like what Hoss would’ve done and he nearly expected some uncanny nickname but of course, Forte was more composed.

“Don’t worry Sergeant! Just follow the plan and get us down there!”

He wasn’t sure he liked the plan, but it was too late to protest. The bad feeling in his stomach was back but so far, every step of the plan had been a success. No one had spotted the small fleet of ships gathering off of Forba and he guessed that Hoss and the Sergeant had succeeded as well. The only thing that really bothered him was that he had no idea where Adder and Fulcrum were and no one was able to tell him. If the jedi weren’t with them when the battle started, then what were they doing?

_Maybe they’re recovering as well._

They couldn’t be in a good state. After the mining moon and whatever happened on the stardestroyer, it was a wonder they were even still alive. It was a wonder that _Tapham_ was still alive.

_Not to mention myself._

“Alright Sergeant, show me what you can do!”

The cloud cover started to lighten up and bits and pieces of land became visible below. The moment they broke through the cover of the clouds, they were going to be under attack. Their only chance of survival was getting to the surface before the Empire could muster a proper defense. Otherwise, this was going to be the shortest mission of his life.

“Yes Sir!” he replied through clenched teeth, working his entire body into keeping the shuttle on a steady course as they exited the clouds.

_“Evasive man- … Evasive m-…”_

Massive lasers showered them in green light but they were missing by far. He still couldn’t see exactly where on the ground they were coming from, but the tall, black towers sprouting from the complex below he saw clearly. Smaller, more rapid laser fire came from them and _they_ weren’t going to miss.

“Hold on!” he shouted and took the shuttle leftwards, but he couldn’t hold it. The shuttle descended into a spin and behind him, it sounded like the entire platoon was slung from side to side. He knew he was able to recover, but with the maneuverability of a stone, there was little he could do to make the journey comfortable.

“Hold it steady man!” the Lieutenant shouted too close to his ears. “We can’t miss our landing zone!”

Dreem didn’t have the time to glance over his shoulder nor even make a comprehensive reply. His focus was on dodging the thousands of lasers outside – hitting the target came second.

Landing _at the target,_ he corrected himself and got the box out of the spin. He’d lost a lot of altitude but the plan was to get down fast anyways. The green tracers mixed with red and he saw explosions at ground level.

_Bombers._

Through the chaos of red and green bolts and explosions, he noticed that the towers sprouted from nodes in a massive network of fields on the surface. They ended in flat, oval-shaped landing-pads and landing on them would’ve cut the travel time by half at least, but it wasn’t his mission. With arms stiff as boards, he steered away from them and scouted for his target while at the same time keeping an eye out for possible threats.

“There!” Forte shouted just as Dreem saw what had to be his target; a series of wide and spacious, rectangular buildings with none of the towers in sight around them. He dove straight down, picking up more speed as the Lieutenant called to his men in the back of the box.

_Okay Dreem._

_Don’t get shot now._

Aiming for a large open space in front of one of the major buildings, he couldn’t ignore the fact that there were turbolaser emplacements bristling with barrels pointing at the sky. None of them moved an inch towards him but if he was spotted, it would be a shot even a blind man could hit.

_Also, don’t crash._

The grounds below rushed towards him at an alarming pace. He pulled the stick back with all of his strength and cut the forward thrusters in favor of the landing thrusters. He managed to slow the descent enough that the landing was a safe and gentle bump. With the flip of a switch the magnetic clamps keeping the boarding ramps in place let go and what had been the walls of the shuttle now fell outwards and crashed onto the surface.

“This is it men!” the Lieutenant called, his blaster in hand and raised above his head. “Let’s give those bastards hell!”

There was a roar in the back and then a surge of boots on the ramps as the troops disembarked. While he unbuckled himself, the dustbowl created by the landing became filled with red and blue lasers. The red ones came from somewhere above but he didn’t stay to figure out where. He threw himself from the cockpit with his rifle in hand, landing on his bad arm but it was infinitely better than being caught in the withering fire that reduced the shuttle’s fore to a burning wreck.

_Where are the others?_

Half-stumbling and half-running, he moved towards the flashing blue lights and found the Lieutenant and his men clinging to steep walls. It had to be one of the hangar-like buildings and touching the walls, he felt the repetitive and deep vibrations which were the product of massive cannons firing in unison.

“Charges ready!” someone shouted. There was a response from the Lieutenant beside him but his words drowned in the deafening howling of ion-engines. With no orders, Dreem raised his rifle and pulled the trigger again and again, firing back at where the red bolts came from but he had no idea if he was hitting anything.

“Take cover!”

He threw himself down as a wave of heat poured over him and a shockwave tore through him.

_“Let’s go let’s go let’s go!”_

Heaving for his breath, his lungs got filled with dust. The others moved along the wall and he followed, eventually passing through a huge breach which had previously been a hangar port. The men in front of him fired away wildly, every shot returned with a red one. He had no choice but to duck and fire back, hoping he wouldn’t get hit.

“Don’t let them man those walkers! _Shoot them!”_

Some of the Imperials held up their hands in surrender, some of them kept climbing the ladders to get into their vehicles but most ran for the exits. To their misfortune, the blaster bolts didn’t discriminate between those who surrendered and those who did not.

“Cease fire! Cease fire!”

Not a single Imperial was left alive and as it seemed there was to be a pause, he took a look around the area. There were no less than six AT-ST’s standing along scaffolding with ammunition, spare parts and what else littering their immediate surroundings.

“Third squad – You’re up!”

Lieutenant Forte motioned for the dust-covered troops and they began climbing into the walkers while others started rounding up the wounded. Dreem just stood there again and in the back of his mind, he heard Captain Tikira’s voice scolding him. He wasn’t relieved to know that she would never do it again.

“Sergeant!” Forte called, waving his hand at Dreem. He shook his head to get rid of the choking feeling in his throat.

“Yes Sir!” he replied and pushed to get into the circle of men around the platoon leader.

“Look here,” the officer said with a broken lip. His face was speckled with blood and dirt and when he held out a hand-held holoprojector, he cringed in pain.

 “We’re here,” he said, showing a holographic layout of the entire complex. Overall, it resembled a hexagonal base and his finger hovered at a node near the center. Then he moved it straight across the nearest field to the next node. “And this is our target. We _have_ to take control of this node. It holds a subterranean access gate and a landing zone we’ll need.”

“What about the turbo laser emplacements?” one of the men asked.

“Use the walkers to destroy them when we move out. We’re going across this field.”

He pointed to a barren slab of land between the two nodes.

_We’ll be completely exposed,_ Dreem thought to himself worriedly and glancing at the other faces around him, he knew more shared his opinion, but what other options were there? The roads leading to and from the nodes seemed equally exposed and they would take even longer time to traverse.

“Sergeant.”

Dreem caught the green eyes of the Lieutenant.

“I want you in a walker,” he ordered and did not pause before addressing the others. “Any questions?”

No one said anything.

“Move out!”

The group of troops dispersed and moved towards the courtyard they had landed in. Dreem scouted for a walker he could mount and saw that four walkers had left already and the fifth was about to. Two pilots were busy getting inside the sixth and he didn’t want to delay a second more than necessary. He set off towards it in a sprint, slung the rifle unto his back and climbed up the ladder to get inside the cramped compartment. He hadn’t been in an AT-ST before but he had piloted the lighter, one-man versions the Republic had used.

“Where we going Sergeant?” an old trooper with a bushy gray beard asked. He was on the movement controls and the other trooper, a twi’lek woman with dusty skin was on the gun controls.

“Get us out of here,” he ordered while adjusting the commander’s seat. He wanted to be able to stand on it and have his eyes outside the hatch.

“Yes Sir!” the man said enthusiastically with a voice he was certain he had heard before but there was no time to think about it. He cleared his mind of all interference and sharpened his focus. The shaky movements of the walker rattled his body and pain ensued. A medic would’ve told him to let the wounds heal but if this assault failed, he’d lose everything. He’d rather die down here then watch it happen from afar.

_“Lieutenant, the Empire has retreated. The guns are silent.”_

Everyone in the walker could hear the radio and true enough, there was no red bolts coming at them outside the hangar. The screeching sound of ion-engines was still there and it grew in volume rapidly. He watched as four TIE-fighters in tight formation flew by, letting off a quadruple volley of green blasts at something on the ground he wasn’t able to see. The hangar was in the way but an explosion and the rise of a fiery, smoky column told him they had hit their mark.

“We don’t stand a chance against that,” the gunner said in a pessimistic manner, taking his attention back to where they were going.

“Maybe not but I doubt they’re going to start shooting at walkers,” he said encouragingly. The walker took a few uneasy steps around the wreckage of the flying box. The pilot was trying to keep up with the others but the remaining walkers had halted near a ditch on the other side of the courtyard. They turned, aimed their barrels high and fired.

The turbolaser emplacements erupted into a shower of fire and parts. The huge barrels toppled and fell down through the turret, crashing through the roof of the hangar and smashing into the ground below. It struck him that the emplacements should have had some sort of shield, but perhaps the Imperial troops manning it had panicked in their escape and shut it all down?

_“Keep moving! We need to get across that field double-time!”_

The crackle from the coms irked his lekku or perhaps it was the never-ending cacophony of weapons being fired above them. He had no idea if they were winning or losing but he wasn’t about to share that concern with his tiny crew.

“The name’s Dreem by the way,” he told them, keeping his eyes outside the hatch.

“Jeq’ru,” the gunner replied.

“Ghoul,” the pilot said. Dreem found the name odd but he didn’t comment on it, he was busy trying to find a pair of binoculars.

“Follow the others,” he ordered as he found a pair strapped to the side of his seat. Around them on the muddy soil, several groups of troops were spread out in lines several rows deep. They were pretty bunched up but they were making good speed across the open field.

“So,” Jeq’ru said after two minutes of silence. “You were flying?”

Exhaling, he replied while adjusting the lens of the binoculars.

“We’re all alive aren’t we?”

“Exactly,” the pilot broke in and although he couldn’t see it, he was certain he heard the twi’lek snort down below. “That’s what matters, right?”

“I wasn’t complaining,” she said defensively. “I was going to compliment you. I’ve tried flying these things before and I know it isn’t easy.”

He frowned, about to ask if she was jesting before a misstep of the walker sent him into the side of the hatch, relighting the pain in his arm.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” he told them, his voice hoarse. He couldn’t take down his arms to protect himself further; he needed both hands to scout with the binoculars.

_Looks good so far,_ he calmed himself and focused on the target node which was well within sight by now. It seemed to have taken a few bad hits. What had been tall barbed wire fences had been reduced to scrap and the few buildings which weren’t piles of rubble had cracks so large in them that he could see them from his position.

_Unguarded?_

He didn’t dare hope it. Three roads joined at the node to become one which led down to a dug-out. The subterranean entrance had to be there but he didn’t see the supposed landing zone near it.

_“Take defensive positions around the ruins. We’re calling in the Freetaa Alema.”_

“Ah good,” Jeq’ru said from below. “This battle will be over in no time.”

“Friends of yours?” he asked, infected enough by the optimism to smile.

 “They’re family,” she replied. “My sister is a gunner up there. We’ll have the cover we need, I promise you that.”

“I didn’t know you had a sister?” Ghoul asked from the side in his aged voice and she let out a pout.

“You keep forgetting what I tell you…”

He sunk back, taking a seat for the first time in the walker.  While his two companions discussed, he watched the vehicles ahead of him crowd the ruins and take up various positions in cover. He trusted in Ghoul’s experience and let him pick out a good spot next to some ruins that didn’t look like they were about to crumble. He had an overview of the road leading towards the center of the base and the fields stretching out on both sides.

“Oh look,” Jeq’ru called out and he didn’t have to ask to see what she was referring to. About twenty steps of the walker to his left, he saw dust whirling up and a hole opening in the ground.

“Is that an underground landing bay?” he asked.

“I think it is,” Jeq’ru replied. “It’s huge!”

There was a heavy rumble but it didn’t come from below. He looked up and saw the enormous shape of a corvette descending from the skies. Its guns stuck out like pins from a cushion on all sides and any TIE fighter that approached it was quickly forced back by a hailstorm of blaster fire.

It was beautiful to behold and a tingle of hope caught in his heart.

_“The Freetaa Alema will cover the ground assault,”_ the Lieutenant’s voice rang out from the radio. _“First and second squad will go underground – Third will attack along the main road. Wait for the order to advance.”_

“Waiting for the order,” he repeated to his small crew. He couldn’t say the task bothered him. He’d much rather fight in the open than in some dark tunnels and with a corvette above them, he didn’t see how it could go wrong.

Yet he kept his eyes open.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“You were very lucky Sir.”

“I’m sure I was,” he groaned at the medical droid. Its syringe-filled ‘hand’ approached him and brief anxiety came up as he looked at it. He felt only a prickle as the droid injected a serum and then the pain started to alleviate.

_I failed._

The sound of battle was clear even from within the confines of the medbay which meant that the planetary defenses had been breached. He had failed in his charge on Forba but that wasn’t even the worst bit. Knowing that his men were all dead was worse. Much worse.

_Inhuman bastards._

Every muscle was tense with emotion as he glared at the bed directly in front of him. Although the Specialist was shackled and was looking at a fate worse than death, she was still alive and that was insufferable. He wanted to leap at her and strangle her with his bare hands but discipline and training kept him back.

“Lieutenant,” someone addressed him. He turned his eyes on the group of stormtroopers beside him – his saviors and saw one approaching him.

“Yes Corporal?” he replied, distinguishing her by the gray shoulder pad she wore. Decency compelled him to stand from the bench but the Corporal gestured for him to stay put.

“Please stay down Sir,” she said and held out a hand-held holo coms. A green diode was lit on the side and he let out a sigh, already aware of who was trying to reach him before she said it. “Minister Vettra wants to speak with you Sir.”

He took the coms and activated it, watching as Minister Vettra’s severe face materialized before him.

_“Lieutenant. I see you survived.”_

There was little relief in her voice.

“Minister,” he greeted her formally and then got straight to the point. “We’ve been sabotaged – an explosion in processing area seven.”

_“I’m aware of that, Lieutenant. What little fighters we have left are without support and they will be forced to retreat any time.”_

“We have a prisoner. One of the traitors who –“

_“That’s very well Lieutenant,”_ she broke in. _“I will deal with them. I need you to leave the planet immediately.”_

“Leave?” he blurted out in surprise.

_“Yes. The_ Tessarius _is not responding to our calls and without them, we will lose air cover. I see no other option than pulling the ground troops underground until reinforcements arrive.”_

“But I still don’t see why I have to leave?”

_“I’m sending you to the_ Tessarius, _Lieutenant. Move out_ now, _while we still have fighters in the skies to cover you.”_

“I understand,” he said and pushed to his feet.

_“Good. And don’t change your attire – It might give them a better sense of the urgency.”_

The holographic face vanished and he took a look down himself. His uniform was shredded and even torn to pieces in some places. There were bacta patches in several places on his torso and he was half-shocked that he was still able to stand.

_It won’t be pleasant when the painkillers stop working._

“Lieutenant.”

The Corporal brought his mind back on track.

“We’ve been instructed to escort you to landing pad four.”

“Very well,” he grunted as he pushed into motion. With work to do, it was easier to forget about the Specialist who had killed his men, but he silently wished he would get the chance to face her before her inevitable execution.

“Thank you,” he said as they moved. Every step sent jolts through his legs but he pressed on with the group of stormtroopers leading the way.

“We only did our duty,” the Corporal informed him without a hint of emotion. She decided to snake an arm around his shoulders and support him entirely without him asking.

“Did you lose anyone trying to get me out?”

“A shuttle will be ready to take you to the _Tessarius,_ ” she said, clearly not in the mood for small-talk. “They should be landing as we speak.”

He nodded, trying to keep his focus on the turbo lift at the far end of the med bay. They passed what seemed to be dozens of beds wherein wounded troops or technicians lay. It looked like most of the damage had been caused by blaster fire which meant that there had to be enemy troops on the ground.

_This is a full-scale invasion._

There were thousands of prisoners on the planet and if the enemy was able to release them all and arm them, they had themselves an army. If they had proper tactics and made good use of the air supremacy they were slowly gaining, they _might_ even defeat the garrison, but even if that happened, how were they going to defeat a _stardestroyer_?

_They already took down the_ Exactoris, he reminded himself as he and the group finally entered the turbolift. It went upwards fast and he stared at the landscape outside through the transparisteel windows.

_Maybe they took down the_ Tessarius _already?_

The thought sent a chill down his spine.

_No,_ he told himself.

_That’s impossible._

The northern-most sectors were on fire. He recalled that most of the newly constructed barracks had been placed there which did not bode well for what had happened to the majority of their troops. Still, there were countless red and blue bolts being fired left right and center in the area, most of them fortunately red and it seemed as if that was the general picture all around the sectors he was able to see. Some of the stormtroopers beside him made quiet comments but they were positive.

It seemed as if they were winning on ground level at least.

“Keep an eye out,” the Corporal ordered as the lift came to a halt. “We haven’t had eyes on the landing pad since the attacks started.”

The three stormtroopers who made up the rest of the group fanned out with their weapons at the ready the moment the doors opened. They had a clear view of the entire oval-shaped landing pad and there was no sign of life other than them and the lambda-shuttle parked perfectly in the center. Its ramp was extending below it while pressurized air clouded the two figures moving down it.

“All clear,” the Corporal told him as the reports came in through her helmet coms. She led him towards the shuttle while he stumbled along, wishing he had brought the medical droid with him. The hour it was going to take to reach their destination was going to be unpleasant if the painkillers wore out.

“I’m taking this sh –“

He froze, staring in disbelief at the odd pair coming towards him. One was a togruta wearing a mixture of dirt-red cloth pieces and dark-green armor plates and the other was a mirialan in light-brown clothes with a face that sent spikes of fear through his mind. It felt like he was being pulled back into a nightmare and he didn’t understand why the Corporal started shouting beside him. Her voice was an unintelligible muddle as if she was speaking through a broken microphone but he heard the sound of a stormtrooper firing his blaster clearly.

Then another fired.

Then all of them.

But he knew it didn’t matter.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“ _That’s enough!”_

Ahsoka’s voice brought the swing to a halt.

“They’re still alive,” she protested, her fingers tightening around the lightsaber. Her heart was pounding in her chest and her blood had been heated up by the brief but satisfying fight. The only ones she hadn’t cut down were lying at her feet and with her own lightsaber finally back in her hands, every muscle in her body wanted to finish them.

“They’re not a threat!” Ahsoka snarled, pushing the Inquisitor aside. “Hoss! Shackle them.”

_Compassionate fool,_ she hissed internally instead of following her instinct and lashing out at her friend. There was some sense in keeping the Imperials alive as they might give intel or turn but it was nothing next to the sweet feeling of revenge.

“I’ll keep an eye on them,” Hoss said reluctantly. “They might talk.”

She acted the intermediate as she snapped on the binders and Ahsoka gestured with an open palm towards Hoss as if to emphasize the usefulness of keeping them alive.

_Mercy is for the weak._

She looked away from Ahsoka’s icy stare. There was no reason to argue with her and they were short on time if the rebels were going to survive.

“The turbolift will take us directly to central command,” the Inquisitor said, leading the way inside. “They won’t be expecting us. It should be simple to cut through them all.”

“We should be able to sneak our way to the command center without leaving a bloody trail,” Ahsoka replied and tapped the controls to send them descending the tower. The acceleration was fast at first but smoothed out within seconds.

“It will take more time,” she snorted, meeting Ahsoka’s eyes in spite of how they made her feel. “And if you’re still hoping that your friend is alive then we need to hurry.”

“That’s second to stopping the Empire here.”

Ahsoka’s voice was determined but the Force revealed all.

“She is close to you?” the Inquisitor asked, affected by the worry spilling from her friend. There was something strange about the way Ahsoka acted, her lips parting several times without a word until finally she had an answer ready.

“She helped me in difficult times.”

“I see,” she replied mutely, catching the look of pain in Ahsoka’s face before she turned. Her eyes moved to the battle outside and as they both observed the battle in silence she was left with a bitter feeling. Ahsoka had withdrawn herself completely, almost as if she was trying to hide in the Force though that was impossible standing next to her. The warm, comforting light that was Ahsoka had been reduced in its shine and it was almost as if there was something missing. As if part of Ahsoka had left her and –

“It’ll be fine,” she blurted out before having thought it through. “We’ll find her.”

_What are you doing?_

Ahsoka blinked, surprised at first but then she glanced at the Inquisitor, probably wondering if this was another clever insult.

“I mean it.”

_Shut up._

She kept her eyes on the world below them in order not to show Ahsoka too much but she couldn’t contain the words.

“I promise.”

Ahsoka said something quietly but the Inquisitor shut it out. The structures immediately below the tower had become more visible and she noticed that the complex was larger than expected. It was a square shape with tall, gray walls surrounding the various buildings inside. The turbolift was headed straight down into a pyramid-shaped building which had several landing pads in the form of oval outcroppings on all sides. The amount of antennae and parabolas protruding the tower they were descending told her that it was most likely that central command was right below them. If the turbolift took them straight there then it would be easy.

“They’re well prepared,” she continued, feeling the turbolift decelerate. Uneven movement caused their shoulders to brush together and it was by sheer will alone that she suppressed the desire to turn towards her friend.

_Focus you fool._

There was a shield generator on the ground swarmed by troops and AT-ST’s lining the walls with their barrels poking over the top. Several platoons of stormtroopers crowded the compounds and by a rough estimate there were at least a hundred men down there.

“If we can take out their shield generator they will have no air cover. They would be forced to surrender.”

“It’s well guarded,” Ahsoka commented and the Inquisitor had to agree but it was the only secondary plan she could think of. “It will be tough to take them out.”

“Well, just keep it in mind in case we have to change our –… “

Her words trailed off as she witnessed a dogfight a few clicks away. A TIE-fighter was on the tail of a lone X-wing and the rebel pilot either had a malfunction or he was new. He tried to out-pace the TIE-fighter and was rewarded accordingly. The X-wing’s exterior was peppered with green lasers and it was sent spiraling off to the side in a cloud of fire and debris. It wouldn’t have been of any concern to the Inquisitor if the simple-minded pilot had only gotten himself killed, but as it was, the remains of his fighter were coming towards them.

Straight towards them.

“Stop this thing! _Now!”_

Deafening screeching started the instant Ahsoka slammed the emergency brakes and the forces sent them into the deck.  She couldn’t see it, but she felt the shockwave and heard the crash of the fighter into the tower. The entire structure shook and flames licked the transparisteel windows, leaving them stained with soot.

“Are you alright?” Ahsoka asked once the screeching died down and the descent had stopped. She tried to get back up but they were a tangle of limbs and the way the cage dangled from side to side against the shaft didn’t help.

“I’m fine!” she shouted, listening in as the metal around them creaked. “It’s not going to hold. We have to get out of here.”

Ahsoka finally disentangled herself and activated a lightsaber. She plunged it into the window and began carving a circle but the cage started sliding. Slowly at first but it was obvious that the brakes weren’t going to last.

“Keep going!” she told Ahsoka and placed her hands flat against the deck. “I’ll hold it!”

The shape of the cage was simple to grasp in the Force, but its weight, the suffering all around her and the strain on both Ahsoka’s and her own souls of late threatened to take away her focus. She grit her teeth hard, pushing her eyelids closed as she _willed_ all disturbances from her mind. She concentrated on the anger, the hatred and all of the immense pain permeating every speck of the battlefield. The dark side filled her with every breath and the more she gave herself to it, the more she felt her focus sharpen and her power increase.

_“Just a little longer!”_

Hearing Ahsoka’s voice made her aware of the Force presence beside her. It was like a blinding lamp had been turned on and every bit of her body resented it. She felt her lightsaber calling out to be used to wash away this eye-catching stain on the world. It contained part of her presence and wanted only what she wanted, but she did not act upon the temptation.

_“Almost there!”_

A taste of the satisfaction she could have if she surrendered rose in her chest and she exhaled, trying to forget how much she craved it, but the darkness was unrelenting. It promised her the power to send Barriss back down into the abyss. It offered her the strength she needed to send the transmission to Yena that would change the outcome of the battle.

It showed her how easily Ahsoka would fall before her.

But only if she gave in.

Only if she let go of control.

_No._

_Never._

“I got it!”

Ahsoka took her by the arm.

“Let go Barriss!”

She relinquished her hold of the cage and let the Force push them both outside with the slab of transparisteel blown out before them. Ahsoka’s grip was hard but necessary as they stabilized themselves in the free fall. The complex approached at such a deadly speed that there was no time to steer or to set their sights on a proper place to land. All they could do was to use the Force to slow their descent as much as possible and then seconds later, they hit the ground.

The first thing she saw was the awe-struck face of a female technician. Her blue eyes hadn’t gotten to the point of fear before a flash of white made her flinch awkwardly and then collapse in two parts.

_Move._

They had landed right beside the shield generator and the crackling energy made every hair on her body stand. While Ahsoka sliced through another technician, she activated her lightsaber and cut through the coils, destabilizing the shield generator.

“It’s going to blow!” she called to Ahsoka and then she was back in the fight.

_Left._

Three headless stormtroopers fell over and the Inquisitor’s face contorted with dark glee. She felt the dark side guide her blows and she let it, trusting every warning it sent her and followed every instinct it activated. Evaporated blood hissed like steam from the wounds of every soldier she cut down. She didn’t know where Ahsoka was any longer, but she did not care either. The bloodlust consumed her and all she wanted to do was to create more suffering.

_Down._

The shield generator’s explosion threw back everyone foolish enough to try and stand the blast wave and while they were down, she killed them effortlessly. Somewhere in the haze of death around her, she sensed disapproval of her actions but she was too far gone to react on it. She leaped at a squad of troopers about to join the action, scattering them with a Force push. Orders were shouted and commands given but soon, all that passed between the troopers was screaming.

And she smiled.

_I can’t hear you._

_Are you scared, Barriss?_

She was inside a building, a large one but her eyes traced only the red bolts coming her way. She maneuvered the lightsaber in her hands with a speed that the enemy couldn’t keep up with, their blaster fire becoming increasingly desperate and inaccurate as she advanced closer and closer.

_Now._

Propelled upwards by the Force she somersaulted behind them and thrust her blade forwards. Her enemy went rigid and cried out in agony while those beside him fell on their backs, stumbling, thinking they could escape.

Laughing, she broke that illusion.

One of them put up his arms as if they would protect him. Another who had had the pleasure of watching his friend be cut to pieces was smarter. He tried got back up and run but she simply reached out in the Force, catching him between two tables and then listened with a thrill as his bones were crushed.

_Don’t cry._

She didn’t have to scout for her next targets. She sensed the fear emanating from the corner of the building even before turning to watch them scramble together a defense. White-clad stormtroopers fired at her but she jumped along the many beds and tables, dodging every single bolt until she was within the group and then the slaughter began anew.

_“Barriss!”_

Resistance was nigh non-existent but that didn’t diminish the satisfaction of murdering every single Imperial before her. She couldn’t take a step without standing on a body and as the last went down, she heard a voice calling.

_“Barriss! Enough!”_

Turning around, she recognized Ahsoka’s shape about twenty strides from her with someone clinging to her under her arm.

_Who is this?_

The woman clinging to Ahsoka had to be her friend; a brown-skinned rebel in a torn Specialist’s uniform. She looked like she had taken quite the beating and a pair of manacles which had had the chain connecting them severed dangled from her wrists.

_I could take them both down._

The swirling darkness within her fast beating heart teased her with the idea and she glanced around herself to make sure there were no one else than the three of them. She was in a medbay and there was a putrid stench in the air. More bodies than she could count on a single glance littered the area but they were alone.

She could take them out.

“That’s enough!” Ahsoka snapped and the Inquisitor made the crucial mistake of looking her in the eye. Defeated, she deactivated the lightsaber and approached the two.

“We’ve got to get to command,” she reminded Ahsoka, taking notice of the way they stared at her. She breathed heavily still and her uniform felt wet and sticky, but there was no new pain.

“This is Kaeden,” Ahsoka said, introducing her friend as if they had the time. Kaeden only stared with her hickory eyes and looked like she had never seen a mirialan before. “She was tied down in here. I think they wanted to interrogate her.”

“We don’t have time for this, where is – “

“We’ve taken the base,” Ahsoka interrupted and gently turned around with Kaeden. “The command center isn’t here. Reports are coming in and it looks like the base stretches on underground.”

“Underground?” she questioned, following the two on their way out. She realized she was clutching the lightsaber in her hand and as she took a few breaths to release the tension in her body, she felt the desire to murder and destroy disappear from her blood. “I was not aware the base extended below ground.”

“It doesn’t seem like anyone was.”

Squads of stormtroopers and other Imperials stood with their hands on their heads in the courtyard. Shuttles and dropships of different types were landing and taking off, carrying wounded, prisoners and slaves to the corvette hovering above. The tall walls the Imperial forces had attempted to defend had been reduced to heaps of rubble in several breaches. As a symbol to their defeat, red banners with the Imperial white cog on it lay torn and sooty on the ground. It was a sight she hadn’t seen before.

“Can you make it on your own from here?” Ahsoka asked once they stood on the steps leading to the building behind them.

Kaeden nodded and slowly made herself free of Ahsoka. She traded a wary glance with the Inquisitor before addressing Ahsoka.

“I’ll make it,” she said clearly but then her voice sunk low. “I’m glad you’re alright, Ahsoka.”

Her fingers tightened around the lightsaber again as Ahsoka flashed the rebel a soft smile.

“I’ll see you up there,” she replied and then turned to watch the woman limp towards a line of wounded queuing up to board the next shuttle.

“Looks like there’s a meeting going on down there,” the Inquisitor pointed out as she walked up beside Ahsoka. A conclave of officers and holo transmitted images of commanders stood under the shadow of the tower and the pyramid-shaped building. They didn’t seem like they were coming to an agreement anytime soon.

“Barriss, come with me for a moment.”

Ahsoka voice brook no argument and when she walked off abruptly, the Inquisitor had no choice but to follow.

“Shouldn’t we be listening in?” she asked, frowning at the blend of emotions she sensed in her friend. She followed her inside a small guard office beside the main entrance to the medbay. There was a desk and a few chairs reserved for a team of three guards but ample space for the two of them to converse.

“Take a look at yourself,” Ahsoka said as they went inside. The transparent panes of glass in the guard office weren’t the best of mirrors, but she saw what Ahsoka meant.

The eyes staring back at her weren’t hers.

“Ahsoka this – … This doesn’t change anything.”

Her face was almost entirely covered in a sticky substance and she didn’t have to check any closer to know that it was blood. The metallic taste sprung to life in her mouth as if it had been splattered in her face only just then and it was nauseating.

“It changes everything,” Ahsoka responded, her voice strained with held back emotion. “This is what the Empire wants. This is what is going to keep you shackled to their cause!”

Bit by bit the azure returned to her eyes and she would not meet Ahsoka’s gaze until it was all back.

“My hatred is for _them,_ Ahsoka. It is for all those who –“

“No!” she said, silencing the Inquisitor not with her voice but her severe expression. She couldn’t tell if Ahsoka was making a threat or not but something made her step backwards.  “I watched you torture and destroy yourself once, Barriss. Back then, I was too afraid to be there for you, but you know what?”

The back of a chair halted her retreat and there was no defense as Ahsoka took the Inquisitor’s hand and placed it against her chest plate.

“I’m not afraid any longer Barriss.”

Even through the armor, she felt Ahsoka’s heart pumping and the rhythm was mesmerizing. Out of breath and without words to express herself, she stood there, staring into Ahsoka’s eyes while butterflies swarmed around inside her stomach.

_I’m sorry._

Ahsoka tilted her head, a faint smile appearing on her lips as if she could read the Inquisitor’s mind. Gloved fingers reached up and touched a spot previously covered by a bacta patch. The skin changed between rough and smooth as her fingers went down the length of the montral, but it was painless.

_I’m so sorry._

The smile on Ahsoka’s lips went timid and it pulled a smile from the Inquisitor. Soon, she forgot where they were and what had just happened. There was nothing but the glacial orbs and the youthful, but experienced face before her. The curvatures of the white lines formed a beautiful pattern and the Inquisitor saw something she could not keep to herself.

“Your markings,” she said, her smile growing exultant. “That’s your holographic symbol.”

 Ahsoka said nothing but the way her smile broadened, she couldn’t have appeared guiltier even if she did say anything. The Inquisitor continued studying Ahsoka’s face until she noticed tiny, singed lines where her headdress had been.

And then the light-heartedness was over.

“We should return,” she suggested, glancing aside to hide all the guilt that came rushing back to her, but Ahsoka didn’t let her withdraw. She took hold of the Inquisitor’s upper arm and squeezed tightly.

“Barriss…  I just want you to know that if –…”

She trailed off, turning her lips inwards for a moment before deciding to lean closer.

“If you find it in yourself to someday accept who you really are…”

The Inquisitor closed her eyes, aware of what Ahsoka was going to say before she said it.

“… I’ll be there for you.”

The words were harmless yet they could not have had a more devastating impact and Ahsoka knew it.

She knew exactly how to pick apart the Inquisitor and it was hard not to admire it. The strength Ahsoka possessed still surprised her after so many years and she could do nothing but stand there until she was alone in the guard office.

Her reflection stared back at her with pain in the eyes, but it was something else that caught her attention.

There was a clean spot amidst all the blood on her cheek and the more she stared at it, the more her cheek burned.

Then her vision blurred and she smashed the window.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“We need to get these people on ships as fast as we can and then get the hell out of here!”

Lieutenant Forte appeared impatient but he let the others speak.

“We should press on while we still have the advantage,” a red-haired, human Second Lieutenant suggested. “We can take th – ”

_“We don’t know how long it’ll be before the Empire receives reinforcements!”_ another officer broke in. He was only a holographic image but the zabrak male still silenced them with his presence. _“They could cut us off anytime and then we’d be forced to fight to the death or leave the bulk of our troops behind. We should pull out now. We’ve already saved as many as we could.”_

“Some of the prisoners we rescued say that there’s hundreds more down there,” a Corporal added. She was completely bald with menacingly white eyes and the blue, purplish tone of her skin made her look distinctly non-human though he was sure she was.

“If we leave them with the Empire, they will retaliate the only way they know how; by executing them all.”

_“The choice is between saving the thousands we have liberated or risking all of our lives for a hundred. I think I’ve made it quite clear what I think.”_

A murmur went through some of the lesser ranks present and Jeq’ru leaned in close to Dreem, whispering in twi’leki.

“That’s Lieutenant-Commander Gatthro Kakatau,” she informed him. “He’s notorious for always staying on his ship and not being shy about sacrificing his men.”

“What an inspiring man,” Dreem whispered sarcastically and Jeq’ru grinned but they both glanced across the collection of officers as a new arrival made her presence known.

_She made it._

“Gatthro has a point,” Fulcrum said and raised a hand to stifle the rising protests. “We will be risking our lives but we will not be cut off. I’ve been assured that the Empire won’t be able to reinforce. We only have to deal with the garrison on this planet.”

“How can you be sure of that?” Forte asked and it seemed most of the ensemble were curious as well. “We intercepted several transmissions before we were able to jam their coms. Who’s to say no one picked up the signal? Who’s to say the _Tessarius_ isn’t on its way here right now?”

Fulcrum took a look around at all the faces waiting for her reply. She looked confident enough but there was something different about her since the last time he saw her. As if a shadow was looming over her.

“We’ve made sure they cannot get here,” she said eventually. “Trust me.”

Dreem felt a sliver of disappointment but he wasn’t as vocal as others. He thought back to Adder and her secrecy, catching himself thinking that Fulcrum might not be as different as he initially thought she was.

_“I trust her,”_ another non-present commander added. The holographic representation was switched off and the female voice had been quiet until now. Everyone listened in, however.

_“Much of this assault has been carried out with undue haste because we were granted the opportunity suddenly and unexpectedly. We weren’t prepared properly and that is my fault – however…”_

He stared across at Fulcrum during the pause, glad to see that she was unharmed. It wasn’t really surprising seeing as she was a jedi, but their powers and what they could survive still made him awestruck.

_Perhaps Adder is nearby?_

_“… However,”_ the Commander continued. _“We need to find out what the extent of this Imperial operation is. Continue the assault underground and get as many prisoners out as you can. With the help of the jedi, you should be able to find those in charge and bring them to justice.”_

“But what if it turns out they booby-trapped the tunnels just like on the mining moon? What then?”

Forte was adamant but outcries of protest showered him and the discussion started anew.

Dreem didn’t want to stay to hear the rest of it. He looked for an excuse to leave them and saw Ghoul standing by their walker. He wasn’t alone, someone in an Imperial uniform stood next to him, asking him questions it seemed.

_Hoss._

He’d recognize the blaster strapped to her belt any time and as he half-ran towards her, she noticed him and started moving too.

“Hoss!” he called out, his entire face splitting into a grin but as he got closer, he realized that Hoss wasn’t smiling.

_What’s going on?_

Sliding to a halt, he expected Hoss to do the same but she leaped at him, latching her arms around him.

“H-Hoss?” he stuttered worriedly, placing his arms around her to return the embrace. “What’s wrong?”

“Just shut up big boy,” she spoke into his chest. “Just shut the hell up.”

Ghoul shrugged when he looked at him, offering no explanation. He didn’t know what to do other than to accept that he was going to stand there in the middle of an Imperial base with Hoss in his arms.

_The mission must’ve been rough._

She started shaking and her breathing became irregular. He stroked her back in response, trying his best to soothe the grief his friend was going through but questions popped up in his mind. What had gotten her so riled up? It wasn’t uncommon for soldiers to break down once in a while but he had never seen Hoss do it or even suspected that she was the type to do it.

_She must’ve flown the wounded back and forth._

He bit his lip. He knew well how traumatizing it could be to see, smell and listen to those who were dying, but she hadn’t shown any signs of being hurt by the sights on the mining moon. Or the incursion she had taken part in.

_Maybe she’s just glad I’m alive._

It certainly made _him_ happy to know that she was alive, but she clung to him with such strength that he couldn’t accept a conclusion that basic.

“I’m glad you’re in one piece,” he whispered, deciding that enough silence had passed.

“You too Dreem,” she sniffled into his chest. “I –… Can we talk?”

She pulled her head back and revealed flushed cheeks stained with tears. It was heart-gripping to watch and he hurried to help her wipe her eyes.

“Of course we can,” he said quietly. “What’s on your mind?”

“You deserve to know,” she said through a breath, still clinging close to him. “Tikira... She – …”

“I know she’s dead,” he interrupted, suffering a pang in his chest as he was reminded, but Hoss shook her head.

“That’s not it,” she righted him. “She betrayed us.”

“W-what are you saying?” he stammered.

“She was a traitor, Dreem!” she cried into his face.

“That isn’t true,” he said, refusing to believe what was obviously a lie. “It can’t be true. How can – … Who told you that?”

“The jedi told me she tried to kill them! Why would she do that?”

“No… No I don’t believe it,” he said, shaking his head in denial. There was no way Tikira could’ve betrayed them. It made no sense whatsoever. He had seen the agony in her eyes, the hatred she held for the Empire and her utter devotion to the rebel cell. There was no way.

Surely there was no way.

“Why would she try to kill jedi?”

Hoss voice brought him out of his thoughts.

“I don’t know,” he said and turned around with Hoss still clinging to his torso. “Did they tell you what happened, other than that?”

“No.”

He found Fulcrum still locked in discussion with the other officers and the thought of marching over there and questioning her struck him, but he calmed himself. The jedi were _the_ force for good in the Galaxy. They wouldn’t lie.

_But they keep a lot of secrets._

“Once this battle is over,” he said as the feeling in his stomach worsened. “We’ll find Adder and Fulcrum and ask them about it again, alright? They were probably just as shocked as you.”

She sniffled and then looked at him but whatever she was about to say was interrupted by her coms going off.

“I really need to remember to mute this thing,” she sighed and picked the coms from her belt. She held it up so they could both hear the transmission clearly.

_“Hoss? Is that you?”_

“Tapham!” they said in unison.

_“I’m so glad you two are still alive,”_ the boy said. His voice was hoarse and frightened but at least he wasn’t unconscious any longer. _“I thought everyone was dead. I thought – …”_

“Calm down,” Dreem said unable to hide a small smile. The boy had been too wounded to even speak before the battle began. He was glad to know he things had improved. “You were pretty ‘banged up’. How are you feeling now?”

_“It hurts badly, but you have to listen to me. There’s something you need to know.”_

The two of them traded a glance and huddled closer to the coms. There was something clandestine about Tapham’s words.

_“Someone gave up the location of our cell but the signal was intercepted.”_

“You found out who did it?” Hoss asked quickly, letting go of Dreem to take the coms in both hands.

_“No, but we know which ship the signal came from.”_

Disheartened, Dreem threw in his guess.

“Captain Tikira’s fighter?”

_“No,”_ Tapham said.

_“It came from the_ Anguilli _.”_

 

* * *

 

 

_“They will be overwhelmed without our support, Inquisitor! We cannot stay here!”_

“My order stands, Captain.”

_“Inquis –“_

_Shut up,_ she hissed internally as she cut the link. She was about to burst with anger – not because of the obnoxious Captain but because of the fact she couldn’t just rip her apart. Her fingers tingled to take the lightsaber and cut down the nearest Imperial but that wouldn’t do either.

She had no idea where it would take her, but rather than making a scene in public, she took the nearest door.

“… Inquisitor?”

“Leave,” she sneered, her helmet pronouncing the hostility in her voice. Around her were no less than three technicians staring at her. They stood by their workbenches with tools in their hands, none of them acting upon her command.

“ _Now_ ,” she ordered before the _Tessarius_ was short three technicians.

They threw glances between each other but as soon as the lead technician started walking towards the exit behind her, the two others dropped what they had in their hands and followed suit. When the door hissed shut she ripped the helmet off and threw it away.

_Master._

The last thing she wanted was to fail her, but she didn’t understand the tactic. Why keep the stardestroyer away from Forba when they might just as easily destroy it? Together as Master and Apprentice it would have been more satisfying than anything she had ever done to slaughter them all.

_Control,_ she heard her Master’s voice reminding her. _Don’t lose control._

She snorted, her hands still itching to kill those foolish officers who took every opportunity to question her orders.

_They should have been executed on the spot._

Of course, there was _some_ use in remaining undercover. The moment they showed their true colors, the Empire would be after them. Not that they would ever be able to find them, but her Master seemed to think otherwise. She _seemed_ to demand caution, but they were assaulting a planet. What’s the caution in that?

_The togruta put her up to it._

It was an odd feeling, picturing the togruta in her mind. For some reason, she couldn’t shake what she had seen her do. How she had treated her Master and the words they had traded. There was a deep connection between the two but what consequences it had, she did not know. But she had to believe that her Master was exploiting it.

_That has got to be it,_ she thought and sucked in a deep breath. Declaring for the so-called ‘rebel alliance’ was obviously just a means to an end. They wanted to destroy the Empire just as much as Yena and her Master so they might as well use that to their advantage, but the rebels wouldn’t trust them if they knew who they really were. That’s where the togruta came into the picture. She was the one standing in the way of the rebels finding out and Yena wasn’t really sure why she did it. This ‘Ahsoka’ who was no jedi but not under the influence of the Empire either; she was helping them because she wanted to ‘save’ her Master, but what did that even mean?

It was confusing to the point of a headache, but in spite of that she felt reassured knowing that what she had sensed in the Force was true. Everything was coming together and all she needed to do was to follow her Master and heed her advice.

_Control. Stay in control._

She let rage and anger subside within. While the darker emotions empowered her, they also clouded her vision if she sunk too deep and it could end badly. She could fail her Master.

_Never._

She distracted herself by taking a proper look around herself.

_A workshop?_

Her curiosity sparked immediately. It looked to be suited for all manner of droids. Opened protocol droids, mouse droids and other smaller ones littered the workbenches. One unfinished project, however, caught her attention.

_This isn’t standard equipment._

The droid’s body was a black, half-hemisphere dome with a crimson photoreceptor located in the centre of its fore. It had a total of five arms ending in pincers sprouting from underneath its body and she recognized it as a seeker droid. The forensic technicians had probably used them in the investigation of the mining moon, which would also explain the abundance of rusty-red dust everywhere. The hand-written label stuck to it was clean though.

_Un-operational due to electrical failure?_

She couldn’t resist a closer look – especially when that label was wrong.

_Should’ve been marked ‘un-operational due to incompetence,_ she sighed, spotting the actual flaw within seven seconds. There were a couple of loose wires which had been left without insulation in one of its arms and had thus short-circuited the droid’s entire movement system. She couldn’t leave it unfixed and fortunately, all the tools she required were right there before her.

“You’ll be good as new in no time,” she whispered softly as she worked with both hands to revive the droid. It had been a while since she had tinkered with anything and it was more than a relief to try it again. It had been a great passion of hers before the Empire came and she realized she missed it. Perhaps she would find a chance to truly immerse herself once the Empire was destroyed?

“There we are…” she said and put away the tools. The droid’s photoreceptor refocused on her as its systems rebooted. Then, with a few jittery movements, it slowly lifted from the workbench. She invited it with a smile and extended her hand, watching as the droid’s ‘eye’ shifted from her face to the hand. Its arms extended one by one as it slowly crawled unto her arm, its pincers tickling her skin through the uniform.

_Like a spider,_ she mused. It was adorable, but at the same time, extremely deadly.

“You’re a precious little thing,” she praised it with a sweetened voice and nudged its underside with a finger while the droid perched on her shoulder. It responded with a metallic chirp which sounded so much like a purr that she could not stifle an amused giggle. If she ever got the chance, she _had_ to acquire one of these.

“Power off,” she ordered eventually and the droid went rigid, hovering from her shoulder to the workbench. It packed away its arms underneath itself neatly and then powered down as commanded.

_That’s enough,_ the grown-up voice in the back of her mind stated. She got up from the workbench, reached for the helmet and circulated a deep breath. She had wasted enough time refreshing herself and her absence had surely been noted by this point. There was nothing else to do than to exit the workshop and head back to the Captain’s quarters, her original destination.

“Return to your stations,” she snapped at the technicians waiting outside. She had nearly forgotten that they were there and she was amused by the way they parted to get out of her way. It seemed the crewmen had more sense than their leaders and the pattern repeated itself everywhere on her way back. Only the officers dared send her skeptic glances or disapproving looks, but none of them challenged her.

_You will all die soon._

It warmed her heart to know. She still had to wait for her Master’s order but she had followed the plan to the letter, save for the small detour.  The only thing left to do was a report and she had everything she needed to appease the Inquisitorius – thanks to the togruta. The foreign lightsaber dangling by her belt was the price that would convince them that her Master’s endeavor had paid off yet again. Her Master had been very fruitful for the Inquisitorius, but seeing as so much had been lost during her recent hunt, a failure would have had dire ramifications. It would have triggered the kind of mission Yena had been sent on, only they would have sent someone who could do more than simply inspect.

_They might’ve sent more than one._

She thought about that all the way to the Captain’s quarter where she forced any useless speculation from her mind. It was necessary to appear focused and arrogant before the Inquisitorius. They saw her as just another ambitious nobody and there was no reason to toy with that image.

The holo transmission room within the quarters was large enough to fit a dozen people around the circular table situated in the center. It might have been a good idea to lock the door but she had made it quite clear already that she did not wish to be questioned, let alone disturbed.

She pulled off her helmet and stood confidently before the holographic display as it booted up. She knew the codes to reach the Inquisitorius by heart and after fifteen seconds, the image of a human male in an Inquisitor’s uniform materialized before her.

“Inquisitor,” she greeted him formally.

_“Identify yourself,”_ he said brusquely. The image made all his features appear in some shade of blue which made it difficult to know whose insolence she had to take, but she made sure to remember his voice.

“Twenty-Seven,” she said, already thinking of several different ways she could tear him apart.

_“Twenty-seven…”_ he said thoughtfully, his eyes wandering to something out of the picture. _“Ah yes… You were sent to investigate reports made on the Second Sister… One moment.”_

A full minute of quiet went by as he read from a list.

_“… I sincerely hope you have good news. Or perhaps you’ve taken over the hunt?”_

A sadistic shift in his curving lips made him look even more deplorable but fortunately it was wiped away quickly once he saw what she presented.

“Another jedi is dead,” she said, holding out the jedi’s lightsaber like the trophy it was. “I have nothing else to report.”

It seemed like he was disappointed in the good news but he didn’t make a mention of it.

_“To the point, aren’t you?”_

“Yes Inquisitor,” she replied like the dutiful servant she was.

_“Return to Coruscant immediately,”_ he barked, already in the process of terminating the connection. _“You may deliver the price to the Grand Inquisitor in person.”_

“I wasn’t the one who killed the jedi,” she said in vague protest but he wouldn’t hear of it.

_“The Grand Inquisitor has asked for you specifically. Be there as ordered or face the consequences.”_

The link terminated and silence befell her as she digested what she had been told.

_Why?_

Prickling nervousness throughout her body made it impossible to stand still. She tried to think of anything she had done that could warrant the attention of the Grand Inquisitor, but nothing came up. Of course, the Second Sister had a high rank and the Grand Inquisitor might wish to hold her on a short leash, but why hadn’t she been instructed to keep a close eye on her then? Why not simply talk over a holo transmission, why did it have to be in person?

_I can’t keep him waiting._

She packed away her worries and grabbed her coms.

_I have to inform my Master,_ she reminded herself but hesitated. The Inquisitorius would know if she had made any delays in her travels, which meant that she had to order the hyperspace jump immediately. It didn’t leave her with much time to convene with her Master, but she knew Captain Heigen was going to protest again, which could be used as a reasonable excuse to buy her some time.

That was good enough.

She hailed her Master on the coms and waited.

 

* * *

* * *

 

 

 

 


End file.
